Balluun, the global leader in social commerce technology, has announced its partnership with Messe Stuttgart and thereby starts its expansion toward Europe. As a first step, Balluun will digitize the tradeshow series Green Festival Expo in the U.S. which is a subsidiary of Messe Stuttgart.
The Green Festival Expos in the U.S. are, since 2013, organized by a subsidiary of Messe Stuttgart and combine innovative ideas, products, companies as well as consumers around the topics sustainability and Green Living in five major metropolitan cities on both East and West Coasts. By this, the Green Festival Expo is the biggest event of this kind in the U.S.
As a partner of Messe Stuttgart, Balluun will extend the physical tradeshow events into the digital space and establish, on the basis of the software-as-a-service application Balluun365, a social commerce platform for the entire industry. Thereby, Messe Stuttgart unites exhibitors, purchasers as well as visitors in one place and makes a tradeshow tour possible as well as online purchases, independent of time and place 365 days a year.
“We as tradeshow organizer concentrate for a long time now on the question, how to position ourselves considering the ongoing digitization to remain a strong partner for the industry in the future. With Balluun, we have found a solution with which we open up new business areas and can provide added value,” said Roland Bleinroth, president, Messe Stuttgart. After its successful implementation, the approach shall be applied to other tradeshow events in the portfolio of Messe Stuttgart.
On the platform, Balluun connects the online marketplace, at which tradeshow exhibitors can present their products and services in their own showrooms, with social media functionalities as well as online transaction possibilities. This way, visitors and exhibitors can communicate interactively, discover news and conclude transactions conveniently from home. Thereby, Balluun creates the advantages of physical tradeshows with the benefits of digital marketplaces.
“The Green Festivals are a unique and powerful event platform emphasizing the topics sustainability, responsibility and Green Living. With the Balluun365 application, we can offer our exhibitors and visitors a state-of-the-art technology to make the lively exchange inside and outside of our community possible, even between the physical events,” explains Dr. Corinna Basler, president, Green Festivals Inc.
“We are proud to welcome Messe Stuttgart as our first partner in Europe, thereby entering into cooperation with a globally operating, innovative company. This cooperation is an important step for us in our further expansion towards Europe,” said Roland Kümin, CEO, Balluun.
In the U.S., Balluun already cooperates with industry giants such as Advanstar Global, Toy Industry Association and the spa community Live Love Spa. Thus, Balluun operates the platform
“ShopTheFloor” for the Magic, the biggest fashion tradeshow of the U.S. Moreover, the software-as-a-service company launched “ShopToyFair365” for the biggest toy tradeshow in the U.S. as well as “LIVELOVESPA365,” the B2B community of the wellness and spa industry.
