“Love Every Contact” - What Is Behind The Slogan Of ISPO Munich 2024?

The discussions about trade shows and business festivals are in full swing: Are they still worth it? Are the costs in proportion? With regard to the world's biggest upcoming happening in the sports business, ISPO Munich from 3-5 DECEMBER 2024, this question is now being asked by many in the sports, health and fashion world. Reason enough to provide an answer - in the form of a campaign that bears the slogan of this year's ISPO Munich: LOVE EVERY CONTACT. An answer that also provides a value proposition, an appeal and a reason-why

The moment of contact is magical: it determines whether you are successful or not. It's something that athletes and business people can understand immediately: contact. Here it's traction, there it's grip, for others it's haptics. There are also handshakes, business cards and LinkedIn accounts. It's always about the same thing: the moment when a shoe touches the ground, a hand grips a rock or you get to know someone you didn't know before. If this moment is good, then it moves you forward.

And now imagine how much business is possible when over 60,000 potential business partners come together. We all live from selling in one form or another and we all know that there is no business without contact and exchange. No transaction without interaction. So what is it all about? Exactly: contact. The neuralgic point that makes everything possible.

Almost 60,000 visitors from around 120 countries come together with 2,400 exhibitors for three days in one place. They all look at exciting solutions and hot innovations, introduce each other to the latest trends and premieres from the fields of sport, health and fashion, engage in heated discussions about the pressing issues and challenges of our time, but also celebrate as a community and stand together as an industry. And - hugely important - they take all this inspiration and ideas out into the world and share them with others. This is how innovations and ideas reach the whole world.

There is virtually no other place where so many international business professionals in sport, health and fashion come together at the same time. It is nothing other than a huge international melting pot of the sports business. Here, every single possible contact must be seen as a potential opportunity for success. That's why the value of such a community platform is measured by what happens when all these contacts come together. In three words, this means: LOVE. EVERY. CONTACT.

It's true, if you look at ISPO Munich (the world's largest and most influential happening in the sports business), you come to the limits of definition: Order fair? Yes! Festival? Sure! Knowledge transfer? But of course! Media platform? Absolutely! Trend forecast? Certainly! Orientation? Of course! Conference? Networking? Job fair? Multi-segment? Fashion? Tech? Health? Community? And the answer will always be one: Yes. And with pleasure!

And that's where it actually gets difficult: ISPO Munich is multifaceted and it's quite clear - it's a business platform. But what business means and how to do business is very different. For some it's an order platform, for others it's the biggest think tank ever in sports, and for others it's a big stage and access to media, investors or "just" the industry.

What ISPO does is so unique and diverse that there is no suitable word that works in every language. ISPO describes itself as an ecosystem - that comes closest to how it sees itself. But ISPO is actually a beacon: people are attracted here so that they can find each other, so that contacts can be made at all - and they are of a pretty high quality, and they are made in a really good atmosphere!

Yes, there is such a thing as serendipity, that chance contact that just happens and can trigger a whole series of exciting events. It's called serendipity (loosely translated as a lucky encounter or lucky coincidence). But chance has to be given a helping hand - through orientation. If ISPO Munich sees itself as a beacon for sports business professionals, then it must also guide them to the right harbor. Because every contact is looking for something different - and so behind LOVE EVERY CONTACT is also the claim to be the home for all these contact opportunities. A home that offers orientation, enables serendipity and brings together people who are perhaps not yet looking for each other, but should definitely find each other.

• CONTACT = EXPERIENCES Feel, touch, experience: Discover new brands and products from the many exhibitors, immerse yourself in the future of outdoor, fashion and culture and test equipment and offers in curated special areas such as the Pickleball & Padel Village.
• CONTACT = SOLUTIONS Theme-specific hubs and entire highlight halls provide insight and practical solutions. From sustainability, digitalization and new retail solutions to career topics and exciting newcomers with revolutionary ideas.
• CONTACT = INSIGHTS Best cases from business celebrities, keynotes and panels from experts and all-day conferences from Sportstech to training methods and sports marketing. More knowledge transfer is not possible.
• CONTACT = GUIDANCE Preselected by experts, quick to grasp and to the point. Whether it's about textile innovations, outstanding sporting goods products and solutions or the most exciting start-ups.

The sports industry and the fashion world are experiencing radical upheavals, the tech and health markets are growing and they are all transforming. The intersections of these developments are enormous. The need for orientation, exchange and innovation is growing. A platform is therefore needed that can accommodate everyone and excludes no one. A platform that supports this transformation and creates offers along the topics that are both drivers of change and challenges: Technology and artificial intelligence. Even, or especially, when it is uncomfortable. Because only then will sustainable change take place. This applies to business just as much as it does to ISPO Munich.

Never before have there been so many opportunities to take part - for every budget and every need. ISPO Munich's claim to itself is: Everyone should be able to participate. Whether a small start-up, a huge international corporation, a service provider with expertise or even brands from outside the industry looking for their way into the sports world. There is a participation opportunity for every budget, every need and every concern - so that more good contacts are made than ever before.

After all, every contact gets you ahead!