Exhibitors
Join SPIEL ’20, the leading Games Fair open to the public
Meet your partners in business, licence, authors and 209,000 gamers from all over the world
The International Games Event SPIEL in Essen can look back on an impressive history. Over the last 37 years it has continuously grown, setting new standards. Visitors, media and retailers of SPIEL highly appreciate the chance to get a complete overview over the game industry and to receive immediate feedback from the consumers’ side at the same time. Exhibitors consider SPIEL to be the highlight of the year and a perfect occasion for introducing new products to the market. For your information we have compiled all relevant SPIEL data.
Facts and figures:
With 209,000 visitors, hundreds of press, radio and TV journalists and 1,200 exhibitors from 53 nations, showing their products on a 86,000 square meters exhibition space, last year’s SPIEL has confirmed once more its uniqueness among the game exhibition scene.
SPlEL’s high publicity level:
All exhibitors benefit by the wide publicity that SPIEL provides. They have realized that this International Games Event represents an ideal platform for public relations. Compared to other events all exhibitors agree that one of the special things about the Essen SPIEL is the overwhelming coverage in domestic and foreign media. During the four days of the International Games Event hundreds of journalists, along with their teams, reported on nearly everything that came their way in Essen.
News Show for the media and retailers - a cost-free service:
An increasing number of publishers gain profile by introducing their new products on the occasion of Essen SPIEL. The Friedhelm Merz Verlag has created a cost-free “News Show” where journalists and retailers get first hand information on the latest games innovations.
Enormous appeal to visitors:
The International Games Event SPIEL, a must for all gamers, welcomed 209,000 visitors from all over the world. It has consolidated its reputation as an internationally unique phenomenon. The exhibitors’ booths were teeming with gamers; courses and competitions were enthusiastically accepted. Retailers, teachers, representatives of public institutions and the whole game community collected information on the novelties of the year. For many exhibitors the Essen SPIEL not only paid in terms of public relations but also in hard currency. Many games had soon been out of stock and new merchandise was quickly called in.
SPIEL ’19 also resounded positively from the booths of foreign companies. Exhibitors from abroad spoke of an ever increasing licence business.
The whole range of the game industry displayed at SPIEL:
All kinds of products are presented at Essen: from family, adult, children and parlour games to strategy, mail, adventure, fantasy and science fiction games. An increasing number of electronic games adds to the range of classic board games; but also books dealing with games and toys.
The idea of the SPIEL games event in Essen:
The secret of this fair’s success remains the basic idea that goes back to 1983: the idea of inviting the consumer and gamer, to play new games and toys and make up his own mind about the quality of the individual game. Thus, the direct impact of a new product can easily be perceived and represents a perfect means of measuring its general appeal. As there are also many retailers and key accounts, the obvious interest in new releases also has a direct impact on the decisions this group of people has to make, as to which new game should better be put on the retailers’ order list.
Program:
The International Games Event SPIEL provides an extensive list of fringe events. Almost all exhibitors would hold bigger or smaller competitions which attract players as well as the attention of journalists. There are, e.g., V.I.P. tables where famous game inventors sign their games, live role games, championships and tournaments. Numerous associations inform on classics such as Chess, Go etc.
COMIC ACTION:
Since 1999, the COMIC ACTION has been organised as part of the SPIEL. National and international exhibitors will show and sell the entire range of comics from A for Asterix to Z for Zorro and a wealth of merchandising articles at the event.
Artist Alley:
For a small fee Comic artists and illustrators can present themselves at the Artist Alley. Selling is permitted.
The cost for a table (including a chair) on the Artist Alley is 60,- EUR per day plus 19% VAT. The artists receive a free exhibitor ticket and a listing in the official exhibitor list.
The registration form is available without obligation from Friedhelm Merz Verlag. Please send us an e-mail to [email protected] (including full address and contact information and the day on which you would like to participate).
Prices:
Thanks to the option of booking inexpensive “10 sqm-mini-booths”, from 707,- EUR + VAT up, the Essen SPIEL also enjoys the presence of inventor booths, small publishers and toy manufacturers. All exhibitors are free to sell their products on the fair. Thus the Essen SPIEL offers a big chance of introducing small, risky productions to the market and helps to get a few steps further towards - at least - break even point; either by selling the product directly to the consumer, or by licensing the product over to other, maybe bigger manufacturers. Apart from the special “10 sqm-mini-booth” prices the basic price per square meter for booths bigger than 10 sqm is 106,50 EUR + VAT.
Application:
To make your reservation, please contact Friedhelm Merz Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Bismarckallee 8, 53173 Bonn, Germany, by phone: +49/228/342273, fax +49/228/856312 or send us your full company name, address and contact details to [email protected].
Yours sincerely
Friedhelm Merz Verlag
What others think. Some interesting links regarding SPIEL:
Here you find a report and impressions from an exhibitor from Asia who exhibited the first time at SPIEL in 2015.
In this video Nigel, Paul and Dan introduce you to Essen SPIEL 2015 and explain why it’s the greatest board gaming event in the world!