Italian Fair Service managing director Nicolò Costanzo was interviewed by Jose Martinez of Universo Expositor, a platform dedicated to trade fair organizers around the world.
Below is the video of the complete interview in English and an excerpt with the highlights:
VIDEO
What does Italian Fair Service do?
Italian Fair Service was founded in 2000 by my father, Diego Costanzo, when he organized the participation of Italian companies in the Igedo Shanghai fashion fair. Since I joined the company in 2007 we have also started working for other sectors, in particular the beauty industry (today we are the most important agency for international fairs in the cosmetic sector), but also the food and beverage sector. , spare parts for cars, the medical-health sector and many others. We mainly deal with promotion, with a careful marketing activity in favor of the international exhibitions that are
looking for Italian exhibitors. Sometimes we organize a large pavilion, the “Italian pavilion”, representative of the Made In Italy tradition, which exports sought-after quality products all over the world.
So basically what you do is find Italian exhibitors that I want to export to other countries. You help them to participate in fairs.
Often those who organize fairs abroad have some difficulties in getting in touch with the Italian market: they do not know it, they do not speak the language (and sometimes Italians do not have a very good command of English). So we are here in Italy, we know the market thanks to our experience and we help the fair to attract the attention of many more exhibitors. On the other hand, we are also a valid resource for the company, which often would like to participate in foreign fairs but needs a hand: we follow the participation before, during and after the fair at 360º. For example if they need a special design for the stand, hostesses, they have to ship the goods, our service makes it easy.
Finally, we help trade fair organizers to always bring new visitors and professionals from Italy to their events.
What is the key to being able to bring an Italian company to a fair on the other side of the world?
Each company is different, it has its own difficulties. Thanks to our great experience in
market and in the exhibition sector we are here to try to suggest to each Italian company the best way for its specificities. For example in the beauty sector we represent 15 exhibitions around the world. If an Italian company comes to us a company that for example produces skin care we will try to identify the best fair, the market with the most interesting opportunities for that specific product. If a company has its own production, an experienced manager and wants to expand its business, we will recommend Beauty Istanbul, a fair that takes place in Turkey and opens its doors to buyers from a multitude of regions: Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Africa and Middle East.
The guarantee of the fact that we are doing a good job is given by the percentage of customer returns: if companies come back to us it means that they recognize our professionalism.
Let’s take an example: if some Mexican organizers wanted to bring people from Italy for their shows, what would you do?
Let’s be very honest, I cannot guarantee you that any event will be a success. But we can guarantee that we will use all our professionalism so that the fair goes in the best way. Much also depends on the interest rate in the Italian market for the thematic sector of the single event.
In any case, to bring Italian companies and visitors, we visit all the main competing fairs in Europe in order to distribute promotional material and establish a face-to-face relationship with the customer. Today it is no longer enough to send an email, the human relationship is fundamental.
Are there any difficulties in organizing the Pavilions with Italian companies?
For the organizers of the fairs, having the Italian pavilion is a guarantee of quality. Italy is recognized all over the world for its products and its unique style, Italian companies allow the entire event to level up.
The most complex part is to be able to reconcile the needs of the organizer and the Italian companies. Often these are small family businesses, with few employees, who struggle to go abroad. Here we come into play, trying to make this step easier. We are also constantly updated on the incentives that the Italian government has been providing in recent years to facilitate the participation of companies in foreign trade fairs.
