the.com/trade fair
Where industries flirt with the future, one branded tote bag at a time.
means A large exhibition where businesses in a particular industry showcase products and services to other businesses and trade professionals, not the general public.
from Straightforward compound of 'trade' (one's business or commercial dealings, from Old English/Germanic roots tied to a 'track' or 'course' one follows) and 'fair' (from Latin 'feriae,' meaning holiday or festival days, when markets and gatherings traditionally took place). Medieval fairs were sprawling public markets mixing commerce with entertainment; the trade fair is that ancient impulse narrowed and professionalized — the festival stripped of the general public and reserved for industry insiders.
- origin
- evolved from medieval merchant markets
- real purpose
- deals happen in hallways, not booths
- freebies tactic
- swag exists to buy five seconds of attention
- biggest one
- hannover messe spans over 50 soccer fields