Dentsply Sirona demonstrates its power at IDS 2017
In order to be a leader and driver of innovation, it is important to work closely with customers – dental practitioners and dental technicians. Trade fairs are one way that the Company interacts with current and future customers and no event is quite like the International Dental Show (IDS). The IDS takes place every two years in Cologne, Germany and this year marked the 37th IDS. The show was held over five days from March 21-25. More than 2,300 exhibitors from 60 countries presented the newest innovations and trends across the dental industry. Over 155,000 people from 157 countries attended this year’s show, which marks well over a 10% increase compared to 2015.
This year’s IDS was a particularly special one as it was the first time in the history of the show that Dentsply and Sirona presented as Dentsply Sirona.
The merger has already been recognized by dental practices and laboratories. Numerous responses from our booth visitors made that clear.
The Company demonstrated its integrated end-to-end solutions and newfound synergies created by the merger in halls 10.2 and 11.2. It was an opportunity to highlight Dentsply Sirona’s ability to create better, safer and faster workflows.
Online for IDS and the new dentsplysirona.com
Prior to the show’s start, Dentsply Sirona set up a special IDS website that provided information about the Company post-merger, its business units and brands as well as which products were being presented where. Additionally, an app was developed for both Android and iOS smartphones to guide interested participants to Dentsply Sirona products at the show. The app was based on the solution map, modeled on a metropolitan transit system map, where each line represented a workflow.
The IDS also provided the opportunity to unveil a new, fully-integrated website with e-commerce capabilities showcasing Dentsply Sirona’s full line of products and services replacing the former dentsply.com and sirona.com sites in the US and German markets.
IDS – proud to present new innovations
The 2017 IDS was a record in terms of unveiling new products for the Company. Practitioners can certainly benefit from the newly integrated combination of products to create a more efficient planning and predictable therapy procedures.
One example of this is the brand-new 3D endo software developed collaboratively among leading engineers, scientists and software developers in both endodontics and digital radiography. The new software combines 3D X-ray data with an integrative file library to better analyze, plan and optimize root canals. This makes endodontic treatments safer and more efficient and can only be done with Dentsply Sirona’s leading endodontic files.
Live demonstrations
Over 1,000 visitors attended the lectures and live demonstrations given by Dentsply Sirona’s key opinion leaders. The latest innovations from CEREC were presented each day at the IDS in over 20 live demonstrations performed by Tim Nolting and Günter Fritzsche in Hall 10.2 and Andreas Ender and Marko Ahonen in Hall 11.2. CEREC is a great example of the benefits of the merger as there is now an even greater variety of materials available from one source for the restoration and for securing the restoration. For both CEREC Zirconia and Celtra Duo, all components required for an optimal workflow are obtained from just one source.
Focus on integration
This year, the CEREC system has now been opened up for the export of scan data in STL format. This procedure offers new possibilities for dentists who are in the early stages of digitizing their practices.
International Special Clinic Solutions has had a successful year leading up to IDS with several large-scale projects that have already made news. At this year’s IDS, the exhibition space devoted to the clinical area was nearly twice as large compared to the previous IDS.
This IDS was all about presenting us and working together as one combined sales team. We were very successful executing this task. We overachieved our combined IDS sales target and generated thousands of leads amongst the businesses. During those five days, I talked to a lot of very committed and happy employees who are very proud to be working for Dentsply Sirona.
As professional teeth cleaning and preventive care are an integral service offered by dental practices, the Treatment Centers and Preventive SBUs displayed the integration of the Cavitron Touch Ultrasonic Scaler which is newly integrated into the Intego line of treatment centers. The recent agreement to acquire the French company RTD (Recherche Techniques Dentaires), a pioneer in the manufacturing of fiber-reinforced composite posts, complements Dentsply Sirona’s new Root to Crown Solution (R2C™), also on display at IDS. More information about product innovations can be found online.
Colleagues coming together
The show was an intense and exciting five days. Many colleagues from around the world attended and it was a great place to put faces to names and connect on a more personal level. As a way to relax, recharge and say thank you for all the hard work, there was a special event for employees after the third day of the show.
It’s uplifting to be able to see and meet with familiar faces in such a large crowd and inspiring to realize that people from around the world make the trip to experience and enjoy this personal exchange. The show was a huge success and marked a proud moment for the Company. Witnessing so many positive interactions between employees and customers was a constant reminder of the great team of people that makes up Dentsply Sirona globally.
Dentsply Sirona’s impact at IDS 2017
See the incredible collaboration achieved at IDS 2017 through an integrated marketing & communications campaign supported by teams worldwide.
IDS provided a great opportunity to clearly communicate the strength of the Dentsply Sirona brand and its mission of helping dental professionals deliver better, safer and faster dental care. In order to capitalize on this opportunity, the Company developed an integrated marketing and communications campaign across several channels including online, print, as well as direct contact with the media. The goal of this integrated campaign was to generate leads, contacts, and impressions.
A distinct IDS website set up prior to the show’s start resulted in over 465 newsletter subscribers with an opening rate of 53%. During the show, five newsletters were sent daily in German and English to share highlights.
Engaging with the media represented an important element of the strategy. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted with journalists. In addition, press releases went to more than 950 journalists worldwide. Overall, 305 news clippings reached 3.83 million readers while broadcasting on major German television reached 5.8 million viewers. Real-time communications also yielded impressive results with over 630,000 users reached via Facebook. During the course of IDS, 2,119 leads were generated for the sales teams.
Corporate Marketing and Communications held an award ceremony during the IDS, hosted by Juergen Serafin, Corporate Vice President Marketing in order to recognize the winners of the Dentsply Sirona Global Marketing Awards. The awards acknowledged outstanding campaigns related to new product launches, brand execution, and solutions.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the successful IDS 2017. The numbers speak for themselves and show what’s possible when working as one global team.
Coverage: 305 print clippings with a reach of 3.83 million readers and 69.6 million online visits with a total advertising value of 332.000 EUR; TV broadcasting on major German television generated a reach of 5.8 million viewers and an advertising value of 255,000 EUR.
Press conference: 170 journalists attended the press conference (100 from Europe, 20 from the U.S., 13 from Asia Pacific, two from Canada and 35 from the rest of world).
Interviews: 38 media interviews conducted, 13 with Executive leaders and 25 with SBU leaders.
Press releases: 950 journalists worldwide were supplied with 38 press releases in five languages.
Product demonstrations: 19 product demonstrations of some of the most innovative and best-selling products were provided for journalists.
IDS Booklet: Attached to several key dental magazines with a total circulation of over 160,000 attendees.
Dealer Night: Over 1,500 guests from more than 50 countries attended the first Dentsply Sirona Dealer’s Night.
Marketing Award: First global Dentsply Sirona Marketing campaigns awarded.
Employee Night: Over 1,000 participants celebrating a successful IDS.
2,119 leads generated during IDS.
By days: Day 1: 258, Day 2: 497, Day 3: 547, Day 4: 527, Day 5: 290
Social Media: More than 630,000 users reached on Facebook and more than 10,000 readers on the corporate blog; with more than 25 videos produced, several of them edited and published to Youtube on-site, 77,000 unique video views were generated during IDS.
IDS Newsletter: Five daily newsletters were sent in German and English to 465 recipients.
IDS Microsite: The microsite provided booth information, an overview of innovations and live treatments, live updates from IDS as well as the integration of the interactive solution map. It attracted more than 10,000 visitors and 26,000 page views during IDS with a 52% mobile usage.
Launch of new websites: More than 80,000 visitors and 400,000 page views of the new Corporate website, newsroom and US and German country websites.