Sometimes the best communication ideas don’t emerge at a desk, but among machines, sensors, robots and real conversations.
All the better when these are practically right around the corner. From our office to Hamburg Messe und Congress, it’s about a six-minute walk.
And so, early this morning, our colleague Christoph Lapczyna set off for all about automation in Hamburg to once again get a hands-on feel for the industry. For us as a PR agency, that’s exactly what matters: anyone who wants to make technology understandable has to see what the industry is really talking about.
Our five key insights from the trade fair:
- AI is moving from the desk to the workbench. It’s less about grand promises for the future, administration or communication, and increasingly about practical applications: visual inspection, robotics, efficiency gains, quality assurance.
- Robotics is becoming more accessible. Modular systems, flexible applications and more affordable solutions are making automation more tangible for mid-sized companies, too. The communications takeaway: don’t frame robotics as a high-end topic, but as a solution to concrete bottlenecks.
- OT security is becoming a trust factor. Connected production needs security. Topics like the Cyber Resilience Act, the Machinery Regulation and IEC 62443 show that compliance alone isn’t enough — trust is built through transparent, traceable implementation.
- Digitalisation often begins with existing systems. Retrofitting, IO-Link, Single Pair Ethernet, digital twins and IIoT show that the path to smart production doesn’t always require a complete fresh start. The interesting angle for communications: don’t tell the story of the big revolution, but of the achievable next step.
- Efficiency and sustainability are growing together. Automation is increasingly being discussed through the lens of energy efficiency, resource conservation, less downtime and better predictability. The conclusion: sustainability in industrial communication is especially credible when it’s tied to economic benefit.
Our takeaway: Good technology communication doesn’t need to get louder. It needs to get more precise. Because in technical markets in particular, the winner is the one who explains complex solutions in a way that makes their value immediately clear.
