Ideea Messe- und Dekorationsbau

For over a decade, Ideea Dekorationsbau, the Berlin-based trade show and exhibitions specialist, has defined innovation and chic in live events. So today, as one of Germany's premier companies in the business, it is keener than ever to set the standards for style and good taste. The Brüggemann brothers, Peter and Lutz, set up their company in 1990. Peter Brüggemann had a background in economics and finance and Lutz Brüggemann had gathered valuable experience in cultural productions. Being from the former East Germany, where a shortage of everything was the rule, they had mastered the art of improvisation and innovation. These qualities, along with a feel for the extraordinary and an ability to work to tight schedules, helped them establish a reputation for excellence in stage sets for theatre and television productions. One success led to another and soon Ideea became a leading choice for those looking for a service provider that could deliver something special for their live events and trade fair stands.

Ideea’s founders: Peter and Lutz Brüggemann “We have what it takes to make our customers’ projects a success.” —Peter Brüggemann

“We entered the trade-fair business approximately ten years ago,” explains Peter Brüggemann. “The first big booths we built were for RTL in 1999 and 2000. These stands, with an area of 1,500 square meters each, were for international media events, where professionals and key players from the television industry met to buy, sell and finance content.”

In both the venues, the stands were magnets for visitors and RTL's presence was a roaring success. This was recognised when, in 2001, Ideea received the 'ADAM' gold—the annual award given by the German federation for exhibition services. ADAM is the acronym for ‘Award der ausgezeichneten Messeauftritte’ (Award for excellent exhibition stands) and recognises excellence in exhibition stands that link marketing messages with architecture and design. In 2005 Ideea again received the ADAM, for Samsung's stand at the World Cyber Games exhibition in Hannover. The same year Ideea was also awarded the EVA, a German award given for live communications and marketing events. Although these awards recognised Ideea’s originality and creative capacity, what ultimately drives Ideea is its project-management skills and an ability to deliver what it promises.

Says Brüggemann: “Our origins are in show business and our people have theatre in their blood. So we have what it takes to make our customers’ projects a success. What is equally important is that the designers that we work with are primarily set designers who know how to serve this market. At the same time, because of our background in theatre and television, we serve our customers differently from companies with a background only in the trade fair business. This enables us to create events that deliver a more dynamic and emotional experience. In other words, they are always worth remembering.”

Ideea is based in Berlin-Adlershof, one of Germany's largest science and media parks. Historically the location has been known as a centre for technology and innovation. This was the location for Germany's first motorised flight and where several technology pioneers refined their engineering skills. Today Adlershof is home to 18 research establishments and over 200 media and IT companies. Humboldt University's science campus is also based in Adlershof. Being right in the centre of this media and technology cluster has not only enhanced Ideea's access to skilled people but also positioned it as a driver of new ideas and technology. As a result Ideea has become a knowledge centre where technology and creativity interact.

For instance, partnering with the Fraunhofer Research Institute, one of Germany’s premier research organisations, Ideea pioneered the use of a virtual reality (VR) system for simulating set and booth design in 3D. The platform, called ‘Ideea virtuell’, enables the company’s customers to view how the final booth or stand will look during the conceptual and planning stages. Using polarisation glasses, the technology gives the viewers a full VR experience complete with spaces, floors and furniture. With the help of a joystick, the viewer can virtually walk in and around the object and get a realistic feel for the physical parameters from every perspective. This way structural components and colour schemes can be changed or modified before the booth or stand is built. The VR system is an important element in the company's design and development process and enables Ideea to design and build a stand to the exact requirements of its customers. Even in television, the prime-time-news sets for broadcasters such as ARD, ZDF and RTL have all been developed with ‘Ideea virtuell’.

“We are the only events and trade-fair company with such a system,” explains Brüggemann. “Our customers not only get a realistic feel of what the booth will finally look like but it also gives them a feeling of security. If anything needs to be changed or modified, we can do it all before anything physical is built; there are no hidden surprises. One needs to keep in mind that even a relatively small stand of 350 square meters has twice the area of a typical house and, as we all know, things can end up looking quite different by the time they move from a drawing to the physical world.”

A successful show or a trade-fair stand is more than just a matter of design. It is also about efficient project management. To this end, Ideea excels in operations and project management. The company’s project teams include highly skilled architects, modellers, technicians and craftsmen who are experienced in working with leading stage and set designers such as Jürgen Schmidt-André, Reiner Otto, Wolfgang Fiedler, Jens Uhsemann, Alexander Bette, Daniel Plaumann and Rainer Borghoff.

For international projects, Ideea has strategic partnerships in the USA and across Europe with whom it offers local support. What is equally important is the company’s outstanding in-house capabilities. Its Berlin location is a full-fledged production facility covering 26,000 square meters. Equipped with 20 CAD workplaces, a carpentry and a metal workshop, a decoration studio and a modern paint shop, approximately 120 skilled workers produce customer-specific installations. This enables Ideea to complete the various stages of development and fabrication under one roof. This not only speeds up operations but also reduces the scope for error, especially for complex and intricate installations. "Our in-house production capability is an important component of our competitive strength,” adds Ideea's Marketing Manager Jessica Brand.

Ideea's clients include companies such as BMW, Bertelsmann, DaimlerChrysler, HP, L'Oreal, Microsoft, Pro7, RTL, among several other leading names. Its ability to serve such customers reflects in its relationship with Samsung. “We have been working with Samsung since 2002,” adds Brüggemann.

“Everybody in the industry knows us here in Germany,” emphasises Brüggemann. “And when people really want to be sure that things will work as planned, in Germany, Austria, Spain or other parts of Europe, they come to us. For the chancellor duel—Germany’s pre-election debate, for example, where four TV channels were involved—we made the set.”

For Germany's EU Council Presidency, Ideea was commissioned to build the two illuminated identical bridges. Designed by Jürgen Schmidt-André, with whom Ideea works on several projects, one of the bridges is located in the courtyard of the Justus Lipsius Building in Brussels, seat of the Council of the European Union, and the other in the atrium of the Foreign Office in Berlin. The bridges symbolically connect three different elements. The 40-metre-long illuminated arc is the central element linking the 27 national flags representing the EU Member States—a link that symbolises both a bridge and an invitation to overcome the borders that still separate Europeans. Together they evoke a third element: the idea of a united Europe as symbolised by the circle of stars on the EU flag. The project was co-ordinated by the Emsdetten-based company, Agentur Trend Event.

What is interesting is that Ideea is witnessing growth across all its market sectors, including productions such as musicals, theatre and other live events, both in Germany and neighbouring countries such as Austria and Switzerland. In Austria, the Innsbruck and Salzburg festivals are the company’s long-term clients. Other growth areas include services for permanent exhibitions and services for corporate communication facilities. For instance, it recently completed the new visitor centre for BASF. Opened to the general public on 22 March 2007, the 10 million euro project was conceived to give visitors a representative focal point during their visits to BASF's Ludwigshafen facilities. With an area of over ten square kilometres, BASF's Ludwigshafen site is the world's largest integrated chemical complex, employing over 33,000 people. At the centre, with a floor area of over 2,000 square meters, visitors get to know how the company adds value in a social context.

“Coming back to trade shows,” says Brüggemann, “when we look at the future we believe that the position of Europe and Germany as locations for many of the world’s leading trade fairs will encourage growth-seeking companies from the USA, China, India and other Asian countries to increase their participation, not only as a platform for selling in the EU but to enhance their global exposure.”