"auto motor und sport" Congress 2020, Internationales CongressCentrum Stuttgart

For many years now, the "auto motor und sport" Congress has indicated the direction in which the automotive and mobility sectors are set to develop. Visitors are informed of numerous trends through exhibitions, presentations and expert discussions. However, back in summer 2020, it was already obvious to the team of organisers at the "Motor Presse Stuttgart" publishing house that, due to the corona pandemic, there was no way the industry get-together at the Messe Stuttgart trade fair centre would be able to take place in its usual live form. Therefore, behind the scenes, they worked fervently on an alternative that would preserve the spirit of the Congress even under the prevailing conditions.

For many years now we have been the publishing house's service partner – a role that, for quite some time, has included providing event technology for the Congress – and so it was only natural that we should be included in the event team’s planning and coordination right from the early stages. With official rules for curbing the pandemic changing on a regular basis, it was necessary to rethink and modernise various solutions. We advised the client with our expertise in Digital Live Events and showed the options for both a hybrid and purely digital format. In the end, the decision was taken to hold the Congress – for the first time in its history – in a digital-only format. The title: "Mobility of the future".

First we created and designed the Congress website on the basis of our "come2join" services, which also provided numerous interactive elements for the audience – one of the aims being to make the Congress more accessible than ever before. In Studio L of the Internationales CongressCentrum Stuttgart (ICS), where we are present on site with our own branch office, we installed an entire broadcasting studio to record and transmit the livestream. In order to achieve picture and audio quality at a professional broadcasting level, we deployed four HD camera systems and a corresponding HD control desk, where the signals from all the cameras and the seven live link-ups – two of them in parallel – were collated. Over 30 other media content items – video clips, teasers, transitions, lower thirds and presentations – were blended in live by the crew at the video control desk. This also included transmission from several virtual conference rooms, which we realised using “Big Blue Button”, because up until the day before the congress it was unsure whether well-known speakers from the sector would be able to appear live in the studio. The conference platform allowed the speakers to deliver their presentations in absolute safety. Talking about safety: to ensure data protection and an uninterrupted programme, we made our own standard-compliant server infrastructure available for the Congress, continuously monitored by N&M’s "Information and Communication Technology" division.