Every year in February the fresh produce industry assembles in Berlin for three days in a showcase of every aspect of our trade. With over 56,000 leading decision-makers, from 127 countries, and more than 2,500 exhibitors, from 83 nations, every link in the international fruit and vegetable supply chain is represented from production, distribution and marketing, through to the point of sale.

As an IT organisation exhibiting at this event we faced some unique challenges for not only content, but also to make sure we contrasted with what others were showcasing.

From our small, but perfectly formed, exhibition space we were able to provide good coverage for Anglia’s Microsoft-backed self-contained fresh produce supply chain system, which also demonstrated many aspects of our complete ERP solution. The demo suite was supported by mobile barcode scanners, iPads and a few large screens for visual impact. Visitors to the stand could see, in real time, barcodes scanned, stock management and consignment accounted for; all from our small corner in Berlin. Over the three days we also used the growing social media phenomenon to attract visitors to our stand to see this demonstration. Back home from our UK office we used the #fruitlogistica hash tag to post Twitter and Facebook updates, providing regular commentary, photos, updates and invitations to our stand. We also used our one bar of phone reception in Berlin to send back photo’s and news updates so our ‘tweets’ and post were relevant to what was happening on the ground.

This was the first time we’ve tried this technique in Europe. It was amazing to see that even after the first hour we were attracting visitors to our stand who had found us through social media. A continuous and relevant update of information was eagerly shared and ‘re-tweeted’ by others. This effective and free marketing technique netted us over 130 followers on Twitter and was responsible for 50 per cent of the visitors to our stand.

While we’re already planning bigger and better plans for next year, a well-planned stand and effective social media campaign worked brilliantly for us this year and can work for you to. We look forward to seeing you next February!—