Marketing Communications

478 CHAPTER 14 EXHIBITIONS AND TRADE FAIRS

work. The strategy of FISA is to engage in new ventures,

but the core business of Fisa is still Batibouw.

In total there are around 232 fair and event locations

in Belgium, which might seem a lot for a small country.

Many of them, though, are small. The biggest in Belgium is

Brussels Expo at 140 000 m^2 , where Batibouw takes place.

Batibouw is one of the largest and most visited fairs in

Belgium. It attracts around 1000 exhibitors and 370 000

visitors each year. Compared with other fairs, this is large:

Agriflanders (350 exhibitors and 86 000 visitors); Bois &

Habitat (250 exhibitors and 86 000 visitors); Furniture

Fair (189 exhibitors and 9532 visitors); Accenta (400

exhibitors and 85 000 visitors); Febiacvzw – Autosalon

(300 exhibitors and 349 000 visitors).

Batibouw is the largest building fair in Belgium, although

there are other smaller, regional fairs that are also

dedicated to building or related subjects and can also be

found at Batibouw. These include BIS fair ( (a building

and real estate fair in Flanders Expo with 350 exhibitors);

Hout, Energie en Wonen (‘Wood, Energy and Living’ at

Antwerp Expo); Vlaanderenverbouwbeurs (a renovating

fair at Waregern Expo); Bois et Habitat Namur (‘Wood

and Living Namur’); Salonenergie et Habitat (‘Energy and

Living’ at Namur Expo); Domotix Forum (Domotica Fair

at Brabanthal); Architect at work (a fair for architects at

Kortrijk Xpo); Batireno (a construction and renovation fair

at Namur Expo); and Bouwinnovaitie (building innovation

at Grenslandhallen).

Batibouw’s history

The ‘Bouwsalon van Brussel’ (‘Brussels Building Fair’) was

launched by Georges de Vestel in 1960. Until then, smaller

regional building fairs were open to the general public.

Georges de Vestel’s dream was to set up a trade fair in

Brussels, not only for professionals but also for the public

at large. In 1967 the fair – which was still called the Brussels

Building Fair – launched its new logo: a turtle in blue, green

and orange. The red and green turtle, which is still used

today, was developed in 1976 by the renowned graphic

designer Julian Key. Until 1968, the fair had its base in the

Rogier Centre in the city centre. However, its increasing

success forced the organisation to find another venue and

the fair moved to the Heysel Expo exhibition centre. By its

tenth birthday in 1970, the fair covered Halls 2, 3, 8 and

the Patio of this huge exhibition complex. In 1973, a

new name was chosen: ‘BATIBOUW’, a typically Belgian

combination of two words – the French batir and the

Dutch bouwen (both meaning ‘to build’). Due to its growing

support among the general public and professionals,

Batibouw became an increasingly international building,

renovation and decoration fair.

The fair attracted more and more visitors, but also

exhibitors’ interest and booth surface area continued to

grow. Since 1993, all 13 halls of the Brussels Expo exhibition

centre, covering a gross surface area of some 140 000 m^2 ,

have been completely filled. Each year for the past

48 years, countless products and services have been

introduced and presented at Batibouw. For 11 days the

entire building industry is the centre of attention. The

event receives extensive media coverage. Batibouw is

also strongly supported by policy-makers, who implement

special measures to enhance this key economic sector’s

resilience. Today, Batibouw has become the flagship of an

industry that every Belgian holds dear. So, now, Batibouw is

a fair that does not really have to be marketed, with 85% of

exhibitors registering automatically again for the next fair.

The other 15% are companies that have ceased to exist

or think that participation is too expensive. In 2007, the

rent for a stand at Batibouw was €120.96/m^2. Normally for

Batibouw, every sub-industry (kitchen, bathroom, etc.)

occupies a full hall. Every hall is full, and there is always

a waiting list for potential new exhibitors. Demand for

exhibition space outstrips supply. For Batibouw, there are

no problems finding sufficient exhibitors. There is no need

to convince people to par ticipate at Batibouw. The fair

is so popular and visible that companies just want to be

there.

How to increase the effectiveness of the

fair for the organiser and the visitors

FISA always tries to organise the fair from the perspective

of the visitor. A fair can only survive if it attracts enough

visitors. Therefore, the organisation invests in finding out

what the public need and want and how it can generate

visibility and media interest to attract the public. For instance,

Batibouw is a big fair, there are a lot of people and it can

be an exhausting experience for the visitor. Therefore it

is necessary to segment the fair. The first focal point in

the communication strategy is to clearly communicate

where visitors can find products and stands. A second

focal point is identifying new trends. Every year, there

are hundreds of new innovations at Batibouw. But one

innovation is more spectacular than another. Therefore,

Batibouw always works with three themes for the fair.

These themes are artificially created, but they always

attract a lot of media attention, and articles appear in the

press about the fair and building in general. For instance,

the first theme in the 2007 fair was lifestyle, which put the

kitchen in the spotlight. The second theme was technical,

‘the acoustic norm’. The third and last theme concerned

saving energy. If these three themes are well chosen, suc-

cess is guaranteed.

Exit polls of exhibitors and visitors are very important

to learn more about client satisfaction and, perhaps, to

improve some elements in the future. The exit polls of

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