At a late-April gala preview of this Summer's IFA, Berlin show managers, key exhibitors (including Philips. Lowe, Sharp & Panasonic) invited a who's-who of the world's top consumer electronics writers to Monte Carlo.

The key messages: since changing to an annual schedule, the IFA is already on track for more exhibitors and visitors than the previous bi-annual schedule growth; selling more space in its third year as an annual event. Equally important: Europe's largest consumer electronics show is expanding its influence well beyond German borders, attracting far more Europeans as well as exhibitors and attendees from Asia and North America. Both regions have strategic stakes in how successfully IFA propels faster European adoption of consumer electronics goods & services. Particularly, new high definition video, audio, portable entertainment and communications products and services.

That dual consumer & industry value goal is not new to IFA. The Berlin extravaganza started 83 years ago. In contrast, the CES just passed its 40th Anniversary. IFA started back in 1924. Einstein gave a keynote address at the Berlin Fairgrounds in 1930, heralding the "era of communications" and celebrating "inventors and tinkerers" in his speech. That was the Great German Radio & Phonograph Fair. Today it is IFA Berlin.

Four decades ago, European PAL Color TV commenced at IFA Berlin in 1967. The CD was born there in a 1979 preview. The birth of DVD flourished between the 1995 and 1997 IFA shows. This year, judging from the influential industry participants in IFA's Monte Carlo showcase, consumer entertainment from credit-card sized camcorders to mobile phone TV to HDTV surround sound will likely set the pace.

While the CEA safely used to boast of hosting the largest "annual" consumer electronics show, IFA has surpassed that claim in numbers, spirit and increased diversity of international attendees. Much of the growing international appeal is due to a shift in European product supply to Asia (for manufacturing physical goods) and to America – intellectual property licensing, entertainment & sports and finance.

While CES relies on Las Vegas attractions for entertainment after hours, IFA provides evening concerts on the exhibit fairgrounds in the Summer Garden. Monte Carlo attendees were previewed as well – an excellent Jazz pianist/pop singer kept guests entertained until the wee hours in Monte Carlo!

What is IFA?
I have attended IFA since 1995. I recently stopped traveling to CeBit personally after IFA attracted more strategic consumer electronics product launches – and key executive speakers – than Hannover's weather and hotel challenged alternative annual event.

The IFA weaves a tapestry of industries together across a sprawling Fairgrounds; an area used for daytime industry to industry and industry to consumer enlightenment and each dusk – providing evening entertainment for all attendees. 212,494 attended in 2006, 94,421 of these were trade visitors; viewing 1,049 exhibitors – 651 of them foreign - from 32 countries! A new English-language "IFA International" show daily spans the five days of IFA Berlin – a welcome addition.

IFA management has significantly bolstered the keynote and speakers' program to include consumer electronics and entertainment leaders from nearly every continent and sector of the industry. IFA draws guests from the consumer electronics, information technology and communications industries with a new focus on professionals – buyers, retailers, wholesalers and installers.

IFA offers up international executives for keynotes and two forums. The IFA Science and Technology Forum (TWF); a platform for national and international research institutes with a unique focus on electronic media technologies of tomorrow. Also, the new Common Life Technologies Convention runs on the 1st and 2nd of September, focusing on the future, the challenges of digital convergence, technological prerequisites for further development, entertainment and advertising in the digital age. The DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) is a co-sponsor. Topics will span business models, legal frameworks and consumers' media behavior.

Meeting Demand for Europe's Consumer Electronics Appetite
Europe's role in CE design, demand and expansion is still ascending. From Iceland to Romania, from Spain to the Baltic states, Europe is racing to transition to digital faster than even North America can shed its analog entertainment roots. To meet Europe's surging demand for all things digital, IFA is leading the pack by expanding the world's largest inernaionally attended showcase for tomorrow's technologies, today. If you want to play in this booming market, it pays to be attending IFA.

IFA Berlin management knows well how to cater to people who want to grow business. IFA's International Visitor Center boasts a foreign language staff (English, French, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic). Free WiFi is provided.

IFA's Monte Carlo preview event drew press from key regions influencing and partneering with European CE manufacturers and dealers. China and India made their voices known at the Monte Carlo briefing, as did delegates from other major Asian manufacturing centers.

Indeed, IFA's influence beyond the IFA Fair Grounds is also rising and being felt throughout Berlin's many, many hotels. Envisioneering has observed an increasing number of business to business meetings in Berlin hotels, as IFA attendees turn their show experiences in to their product plans for the next IFA.

Growing American Interest, Involvement
In this digital era, American entertainment companies, and consumer electronics companies from A to Z (Apple to Zenith) who influence European product designs, services and programming. Just a few North American companies whose fortunes are affected by IFA success: AMD, AT&T, Bose, Cisco, Creative Labs, Dell, Disney, ESPN, Fox, Hauppague Digital, HP, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, MTV, NBC Universal, NetGear, Paramount, Quallcomm, RealNetworks, RIM (BlackBerry), Warner...and dozens of others.

Not only have executives from these companies asked Envisioneering about how to prepare for IFA but also an increasing number of financial industry executives as well. Increasingly, private equity and fund managers have a role in financing the consumer electronics products, shops and programming Europeans enjoy. IFA's president is making a strong effort to cater to all these groups in the Americas, Asia and the rest of Europe.

To make attendance beyond Germany easier than years past, IFA has partnered for a series of discounted Railway and Air excursions. Air travel from London & Paris for 2 days and one night's hotel is just 199 Euros. Rail passes to and from outside Germany are even more affordable. Air Service Berlin and Germanwings offer an IFA Helicopter Shuttle from Schönefeld airport to the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. Helicopter flights to the Berlin Exhibition Grounds are only available in combination with an incoming (airline) flight to Schönefeld; helicopter flights from the IFA to Schönefeld airport have no restrictions. The flight takes just six minutes! A free Bus shuttle will depart from Berlin Tegel airport.

Registration is discounted through to 15 July.
www.ifa-berlin.com