Each year, recognizing the key dates for Home and & Furniture Brands is critical to leverage opportunities in the Homeware and Design market.
Attending international trade shows and events can be a game-changer for your business. These gatherings offer the opportunity to grow your network, showcase your brand to potential customers, and glean insights about upcoming trends.
To help you plan, we’ve curated 7 key show dates to mark on your calendar that are perfect for furniture, homeware, and design brands. We’ll also share 6 secrets to getting maximum value out of any trade event or show you attend.
It’s showtime!
In this article you’ll learn…
7 Key Design Show Dates To Mark in Your Calendar Now
1. Salone del Mobile Milano (Milan, Italy)
Date: April 16-21, 2024
Every year, exhibitors and attendees from across the globe flock to Salone del Mobile Milano to showcase or view the latest in furniture design and home accessories. Not only is it the largest trade fair of its kind, it’s also one of the most prestigious.
The 2023 event attracted over 300,000 visitors in six days – 15% growth from the year before. 5,400 were accredited journalists, demonstrating the potential for brands to gain valuable media coverage by attending.
Social media opportunities are also impressive: Salone del Mobile reports that the 2023 event reached 30 million social accounts, with 6 million video views and around 80 million impressions. Overall, the event made $24.6M in Media Impact Value™ (MIV®).
Looking at the channel split for the event, we can see that Instagram far exceeded other platforms in its MIV® contributions.
The social media channel outperformed other platforms by a landslide. 68% of placements were posted on Instagram and the platform was utilized to share brand’s collections, which ultimately allowed them to gain visibility and reach.
If you’re looking to make an impact in the European market, this show is a must-attend and one of our many key dates for Home and Furniture Brands.
Case Study: Kartell at Salone del Mobile Milano
| Our data reveals that design brand Kartell generated $148K in Media Impact Value™ (MIV®) across 97 placements during Salone del Mobile 2023. Instagram drove the biggest value for the brand, earning 70% of their MIV®. Kartell used the event to highlight their commitment to sustainable design, a theme that was popular both in media outlets and on social media. Below, we share the distribution of MIV® by location. This proves that, despite the event being located in Italy, the show’s reach spreads throughout Europe, generating impressive coverage results in Spain, France, and beyond. |
Now you know the amount of Media Impact Value™ that can be driven by this hugely successful Italy-based event, what other regions and events should you target and focus your marketing efforts on?
2. Maison&Objet (Paris, France)
Date: January 18-22, 2024
Known for its high-end selection of design and decor, Maison&Objet is one of our top key dates for Home and Furniture brands. Namely, it’s a big event for luxury. This biannual fair – with editions in September and January – offers a wide range of conferences and workshops, making it an excellent learning and networking opportunity.
The last edition showcased more than 2,300 brands spread over 7 halls and representing 60 countries. As well as the fair, Maison&Objet has a magazine, an online marketplace, an online academy, and more to take advantage of. So, plenty of Voice types to amplify your brand’s content and campaigns.
3. High Point Market (High Point, NC, USA)
Date: April 13-17, 2024
High Point Market is often referred to as the fashion week of home furnishings. One of the largest home furnishings industry trade shows in the world, it hosts over 2,000 exhibitors from more than 100 countries.
The show is held twice yearly in October and April, and includes educational seminars and networking events.
4. Habitare (Helsinki, Finland)
Date: September 2024 (TBC)
Habitare is Finland’s largest furniture, design, and interior decoration event. It’s a platform where both Finnish and international design is presented, with a special focus on emerging designers.
It may not be as huge as some other events, but that can be to Habitare’s credit. It’s easy to get around, friendly, and accessible. If you’re looking for a place where the next generation of designers comes to showcase their fresh ideas, this is it.
5. London Design Festival (London, UK)
Date: September 2024 (TBC)
Mark this as one of your key dates for home and furniture brands for September 2024, and start planning early. This unmissable celebration of design will draw hundreds of thousands of people into its orbit, and you don’t want to miss it.
A festival, this city-wide event celebrates and promotes London as the design capital of the world. By getting involved, you can spot the latest trends, capitalize on the buzz, and generate visibility and coverage value for your brand.
6. Design Shanghai (Shanghai, China)
Date: 19-22 June, 2024
Brands looking to enter the rapidly growing Chinese market have a number of platforms to take advantage of. One of them is Design Shanghai, a growing event that celebrated its 10th anniversary this June with a show boasting over 77,000 visitors, 600 brands, and 230 speakers.
Offering a rich and immersive experience for attendees, this event aims to explore how Eastern and Western design philosophies can coexist.
7. IMM Cologne (Cologne, Germany)
Date: January 14-18, 2024
IMM Cologne is Germany’s biggest interior design fair, attracting more than 100,000 visitors each year. Premium brands can take advantage of the ‘Pure’ segment, which specifically emphasizes innovative and high-end design.
How To Maximize Your Event Attendance ROI
Having a brand presence at any of our key dates for home and furniture brands comes at a cost, so you’ll naturally want to get the most value possible from attending. Here are some tips to help you do that.
1. Plan early.
Plan ahead by first deciding what your goals and objectives are. What do you hope to achieve by attending the event? This can help you determine your approach, and doing this early gives you time to lay down the necessary groundwork.
For example, if your goal is to gain visibility through media mentions and social buzz, you might launch a new product or announce a collaboration during the show.
2. Consider influencer marketing.
The Influencer Voice may not traditionally be the strongest when it comes to home and design shows, but that is quickly changing. Influencers are increasingly moving into the homeware space, so utilizing this Voice to showcase your products and drive event attendance promotions can be a profitable move.
High Point Market, for example, ran an initiative through its Instagram account to encourage influencers to get involved in its own Design Influencers Tour program.
While traditional Media Voices can drive a lot of value from events, Influencers can expand your reach by sharing your brand with followers in an authentic and engaging way. Different levels of influencers will yield different results, so look to find the right balance (you can read more about influencer tiers here).
3. Conduct market research.
Tradeshows and design fairs give brands a unique opportunity to understand trends and conduct market research in a live and interactive environment. Maximize this opportunity by observing other brands, collecting direct feedback from existing and potential customers, networking with industry peers, and attending workshops and seminars to glean insights into market forecasts and seasonal trends.
In the digital age, social media listening is also key here: monitor social media activity during the trade show to gain real-time feedback and sentiments about your brand and products and assess the impact of your presence.
4. Consider collaboration
In your research, you will find that some brands have seen great success by collaborating with designers and artists. These collaborations help to amplify messaging and increase brand visibility. Take a look at the following high MIV® driving examples.
Bottega Veneta collaborated with artist and designer Gaetano Pesce during Salone del Mobile 2023. The installation, entitled ‘Vieni a Vedere” or “Come and See,” featured an intricate path revealing two site-specific handbags envisioned by Pesce as mountain ranges before sunrise and sunset. The collaboration generated $368K MIV®.
Philippe Starck, on the other hand, joined forces with renowned luxury powerhouse Dior to create iconic chairs, some featuring light aluminum and sleek silhouettes. One, ‘Miss Dior’, was showcased at the event and online, showing Starck’s combining of simplicity with excellence. The partnership proved dividends for the brand and designer, as multiple placements and visibility from the event drove $819K MIV®.
4. Build up your presence.
Attending a show once can be valuable for your brand, but the greatest value comes from having a consistent presence. By showing up regularly, you can build an association between your brand and the prestige of the event, multiply your exposure, forge stronger relationships with other attendees, and stay up-to-date with new trends.
Most importantly, regular attendance allows you to measure your success and learn how to improve performance outcomes. The crucial thing here is tracking and benchmarking your performance using data-driven tools. Over time, this data will enable you to adjust your strategy and maximize the value you get from every event.
Firm believers in the value of Salone del Mobile, furniture brand Cappellini have attended for 50 consecutive years.
5. Use competitive benchmarking.
Tracking your own performance during events is crucial, but so is knowing where you stand in relation to competitors. Using competitive benchmarking, you can assess your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, learn from their successes, and avoid their mistakes.
The right tools will allow you to track how much value your competitors are driving from the event, who their biggest brand advocates are, and which Voices are their most lucrative. This data is instrumental in optimizing your participation and gaining a competitive advantage.
How do you measure the impact of your marketing activities? If you don’t have the right data at hand, you could be missing out on a huge opportunity to optimize your strategy, drive ROI, and ultimately sail ahead of the competition.
Launchmetrics Insights is a powerful tool for measuring the impact of your brand activities, finding out how you stack up against the competition, and more. Request a free demo today.
By Hollie O'ConnorContent Marketing Manager
Hollie is a passionate writer, editor and former journalist with a penchant for storytelling. As Content Marketing Manager for Launchmetrics, Hollie's experience involves producing relevant, thought-provoking copy and creative visual assets.