OTHER EVENTS AND NEWS

• Light + Building, Frankfurt, Germany
  
• Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition, Guangzhou, China
  
• Light + Intelligent Building Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
  
• Light + Intelligent Building Middle East, Dubai
  
• Light India, New Delhi
  
• Prolight + Sound, Frankfurt
  
• Prolight + Sound Guangzhou, Guangzhou
  
• Expo Delhi, New Delhi, India

IESNYC: We're looking for common activities and interests where the IESNYC and LightFair intersect. And then also what maybe Messe Frankfurt doesn't know about IESNYC and things that we don't know about you.

So… what's going on?

von VIEREGGE: Well… it’s going to be a very busy year for us! We are all very excited to see how LightFair 2025 is going to perform. And while we are confident and happy about how things are proceeding, it's going to be – what do you say, the proof will be in the pudding, right?

IESNYC: Putting on my specifier hat, one of the things that I've been concerned about at LightFair in years past has been the absence of the large, legacy brands exhibiting: the big three. So far, how are we doing in terms of rebuilding this base of well-established manufacturers?

von VIEREGGE: We have very good relationships and have had very good conversations with those brands, and overall, they are very happy with the plans that we put in place. For example, they were really happy with the Luminary Leaders program. It has gotten a lot of traction.

Some of the brands have challenges outside LightFair, as you know, there's a lot going on in the industry right now. None of them have committed yet, 100%, but we know that they will be there to come and walk the show, at least.

We knew we were not going to get those big legacy brands back straight away. We have had some commitments that they definitely have money put aside for 2027 if they like what they see this year. 

IESNYC: What are Luminary Leaders?

GOODING: These are VIP buyers, high-level people that commit to attend and then we pay for their accommodations and show and travel costs. This ensures that high-end buyers come to the show.

IESNYC: Are those like buyers for Federated Department Stores [now Macy’s Inc.] or other big national accounts?

GOODING: And industry VIPs in general. A VIP program is one of those things that every good trade show needs. You need to make sure the important people come to the show.

Elevated look and feel

GOODING: I’m also very excited about how the show is going to look. You’re going to see big upgrades; and an elevated quality of the look and feel. As a starter, the hall lights are going to be off! And overall, we made sure that the show looks absolutely great. If you've been to Light + Building in Frankfurt, you know how important quality is for us. We’re bringing this with us to Las Vegas.

On top of that, we have the feature areas on the floor and a lot of fringe programs added to the actual exhibits and seminars. We’ll have immersive lighting installations that are being organized by the IALD. There’s TED-style talks in the LightFair Theater and the Designery, and a lot of different things going on right on the floor.

There’s so much more to trade shows than just visiting booths.

von VIEREGGE: Yes. I think the major shift that we have in attracting exhibitors is our focus on the attendees. We need to make sure that they come and that they have a good experience. Because if the educational sessions are good, if the fringe programs are good, and then on top of that you see good exhibitors… then you have a good attendee experience.

GOODING: Some of the feedback we got was the need to build community. So we are going to have popup meeting points: bars, lounges, and other corners. Then there will be lots of networking after dark, starting with the Opening Night Reception and the LightFair Innovation Awards [for products]. The IALD will be back hosting its annual design awards gala that benefits their Education Trust.

We're striving to create community and engagement. Not just for designers and specifiers, but everyone that's attending from all sectors of the industry. They can come together to network and enjoy fellowship.

von VIEREGGE: It's about creating that community feel. I mean, we have some shows where the party is the central point of the show. But every community is different and needs to be treated differently. We want to create that DNA for LightFair going forward. It's going to be based on community and learning.

IESNYC: I know a lot of us are excited about the installations, where manufacturers invite select lighting consultant firms to collaborate on immersive exhibits. The theme is Biophilic Spaces, which should be cool.

What’s new?

GOODING: We rely on our partners to make sure that we know what's going on throughout the industry. We’ll have the traditional conference sessions off the show floor, in the meeting rooms. Brienne [Musselman, Director of Education at the IES] is also curating sessions on the show floor in the LightFair Theater. We’re not sure yet if they will offer CEUs. The LightFair Theater will be located in the Outdoor Pavilion to bring extra attention there. And we’re designing the space to look like it's outdoors.

Kim [Porter, Head of Marketing at Messe Frankfurt] and I visited the Street and Area Lighting Conference here in Atlanta to talk to exhibitors about LightFair. They weren't really sure if it was the right space for them. So Kim and I are welcoming them by focusing on the Outdoor Pavilion and inviting some of the same speakers that presented at the streetlighting conference. Once we have the speakers confirmed, we'll announce it to the community, but we're already excited.

Oh, and the Light Justice NOW Awards are new, organized by designing lighting magazine – a very important development around community impact.

Still a three-way split

IESNYC: So is it the same as in the past? A three-way split between the Messe Frankfurt, IALD, and IES?

von VIEREGGE: Yes. We took over the management responsibility and the one-third partnership. The main drawing point was, obviously, our international sales network when it comes to lighting shows. We already produce Light + Building in Frankfurt and Light + Intelligent Building Middle East, among other shows.

So we are also bringing a lot of new international companies to LightFair. But we have a very rigorous vetting program, in terms of making sure that we don't let just anyone into the show. We draw on our experience in Frankfurt and Dubai to determine the suitability of each exhibitor. Believe it or not, I have gotten a lot of angry calls already from exhibitors that we actually declined.

IESNYC: So, what would some of those parameters be? Reputation? Years in business? Product quality?.

von VIEREGGE: Yes, all of the above. But also we don't want certain product categories to get too large, especially components. We have a couple of new international exhibitors committed. But being our first year with LightFair, we have a lot of delegations coming to look at the show first.

Why schlep?

IESNYC: So why should New Yorkers make the commitment to travel to Las Vegas for 4 days? It’s so much easier to attend when it’s here in the City. You can go for a couple of hours and then head back to work and then maybe hit an after-hours event.

von VIEREGGE: If you go to LightFair in New York, you know how things end. You go for an hour or two; back to the office until 5:00; and if you have obligations at home, you’re probably not going to go to the evening party to see old friends. What we see is that locations where people actually have to travel, these have much better program attendance, especially in the evening.

One exhibitor keeps telling me that he makes his best business connections, not when he’s in his booth, but like on the way to the restrooms or in the evening at the hotel bar. When you leave your hometown, you’re focusing on your professional community. That's where you make the connections you didn't know you needed. That’s why Las Vegas is the number one trade show city in the United States. You have a very intense 2 to 3 days.

IESNYC: The IESNYC Section was a partner in the initial Lighting World/LightFair, but they’re not anymore. Do you consider the New York lighting community to be essential?

von VIEREGGE: Absolutely! We know there were challenges between the previous show organizer and the New York Section. I don’t know the whole story, but we needed to clear it up. The IES is an essential organization, and the New York City Section is probably their most important section. It’s New York City! Of course we need you at the show. Otherwise the community wouldn't be… complete.

IESNYC: Well, to your credit, when I suggested you should come in and address the [IESNYC] Board of Managers, you leapt at the opportunity. As an important constituent group, I feel like we're being treated as if we are a partner.

And there's the fact that LightFair won’t be back in New York in this decade. Right?

GOODING: Yes. Due to contracts already signed, LightFair will be in Las Vegas in 2025 and 2027, and then we’re in Philadelphia in 2029.

von VIEREGGE: To be honest, also what we heard from the exhibitor side is that New York is extremely expensive. We do run other shows in the Javits Center, and it is definitely one of the most expensive locations in the country. Logistics, hotels, hospitality, transportation – all of those things.

The voice of the industry

IESNYC: So we, as visitors to Vegas, are not just walking across town to LightFair. What are the things we should be excited about?

GOODING: Again, you are going to just really experience an elevated feel from start to finish. We have married lighting in itself into the design. It should feel like an innovative space for the entire industry to come together, to share ideas, to see what's new. We want to bring it back to the way that the early 2000s made LightFair feel: like the place to be for lighting.

LightFair educationally was always good. We have about 100 education sessions, all curated by Brienne. And the immersive exhibits will spark your creativity. We’ve vetted really good exhibitors that will be important for you to talk to.

IESNYC: We had talked last year about some of the non-lighting but lighting-adjacent exhibitors that we felt would be useful. I was thinking about Revit and Autodesk or intelligent building companies. These are parts of how we as lighting professionals do our work.

GOODING: That’s a good question. We are highlighting some of that in the Technology Pavilion, and actually I'm looking to expand that in 2027. It’s something we can build on in future years.

IESNYC: There are lots of reasons to attend LightFair. I’m actually not someone that does a lot of business on the show floor. I am more of a floater, a window shopper. Another reason I attend is to support colleagues who are presenting and [to support] the idea that lighting design involves lifelong learning. Continuing education is incredibly important for a vibrant and relevant profession.

And another very real reason is that the three partner organizations both contribute to and benefit from the profits of LightFair equally. The IES as an international organization (and the IALD) derive a significant part of their annual income from LightFair. We've all seen the contraction that has been forced on both organizations because of the reduction in LightFair income.

In supporting LightFair we’re building up these organizations that are so important to our industry. They give us codes and professional guidelines. It's our version of collective bargaining and decision-making. Our way of preserving a… collective gravitas, I guess.

von VIEREGGE: Well said.

IESNYC: I don't think either [IES or IALD] can afford a lobbyist at the moment. So I would like to see us get to the point where we have the reach and the depth and breadth to be able to influence policy.

In other places in the US we don't have the concentration of lighting professionals and design, talent, expertise that we have in New York. The Society does act as a home base for those lighting communities in smaller markets. (Pretty much every market except New York, LA, San Francisco, Toronto, and possibly Chicago.) Because of that, we want the IES to continue to grow and flourish. That’s one of the many reasons that the IESNYC needs to be committed to LightFair: because we are committed to a larger, broader community outside of just our own particular self-interests.

Design decision-making is important to us all and the best thing that we can do for our collective professionalism is to be a community that has weight, and demonstrates that by showing up together to speak elegantly for the interests of our industry.

That’s my soapbox.

Positioning Messe Frankfurt

von VIEREGGE: And maybe just to add one more point: Messe Frankfurt, while we are a private company, we are not a private equity–driven company chasing quarterly results. We belong to the city of Frankfurt and the province of Hesse, so we have a long-term vision.

We have brought our management fees down to a fraction of what the previous company charged, because we know we need to reinvest into the show. We do feel a responsibility towards the industry also, because we are always thinking about our other shows worldwide, and our reputation. We understand how important this show is financially for IES and IALD, and the health of the industry as a whole.

A really good, working trade show is important for the lighting industry. We have seen it in many countries and in many industries: industries that gave up their trade show and then 5–6 years later, regretted bitterly. They don't have a place anymore where they can shine. A good trade show is a showcase for the industry.

IESNYC: Your Middle East show, for example, now hosts a viable lighting community where there wasn't one before. Yes, that part of the world has seen an extraordinarily aggressive pace of development. But Light + [Intelligent] Building Middle East this year had a lot of buzz.

GOODING: Constantine is smiling…

IESNYC: I can see where a good trade show can be a container for growth, and for designers a… kind of sandbox for industry play. Participating is a means of not just solidifying the industry, but lifting it up and setting a course for the future.

LEDs are a mature technology, and we're experiencing the first generation of board deaths: the first and second generations of components are reaching their end of life. As an industry, we're at an inflection point where we're ripe for, not just the next great idea but also our next area of focus. So I hope that a strong showing of New York–based IES members at LightFair can be part of that.

von VIEREGGE: Yes. We believe you are all very important – a driving force – and we want you there.