The Innovation SpeakerMario A. Brückner Check a date
Occasion · Customer event and trade fair

Speaker for customer events and trade fairs.

your guests do not have to listen — the slot has to give them a reason.

15 to 45 minutes depending on format · customer evening, expert programme or stand stage · announcement material available without asking

At a customer event nobody is obliged to listen. The guests came because they were invited — not because a talk is on the programme. They can walk to the buffet at any moment, and at a trade fair they can simply keep walking.

That changes what the slot has to do. It has to work without prior knowledge, it has to give a reason to stay within the first two minutes, and it must not outshine the host. Three conditions that are rarely met together.

What the talk does for the host

It gives the guests a reason of substance to file the evening as time well spent — and gives the host a shared subject that is not their own product.

The second point is often underestimated. After a pure product evening, all that is left for the next conversation is the product. After a slot that has raised an open question, the question is left — and you can keep talking about that without having to sell anything.

How the slot fits into the programme

  • As an opening before the expert programme: it opens the subject, and the host then occupies it with their own answer.
  • As a slot of its own in the evening, 30 to 45 minutes, before the reception.
  • As a short format on the stand stage, 15 to 20 minutes, for an audience that forms as people walk past.
  • As a panel contribution or facilitation, if your format includes a discussion with customers.

What a trade fair appearance additionally demands

On a stand stage the slot competes with hall noise, announcements and the neighbouring stand. Shorter is better here than complete: one statement, one example, one question. A working sound system matters more than any presentation — if it is not reliably in place, the short format is the better decision.

What the organiser gets

  • A preliminary call of about 30 minutes: who the guests are, what message the host wants to set, what should stay with people.
  • Title, abstract, short biography in three lengths and cleared press photos for the invitation and website — available in the speaker kit without asking. Print originals at 300 dpi follow on a short message.
  • Alignment with the production and technical team beforehand.
  • Presence beyond his own slot, as far as the schedule allows.

What the organiser provides

A projector or LED wall with an HDMI connection, a headset or lapel microphone — not a handheld — and a connection for his own laptop. On stand stages, a sound system that carries over the hall noise. The presentation is supplied in advance as a backup.

Process

Four steps to a confirmed date.

1. Enquiry

Date, location, format and the make-up of the guest list are enough for a first answer, usually within 24 hours.

2. Preliminary call

About 30 minutes: who is coming, what message the host wants to set, which question the slot should leave open.

3. Offer

In writing, with format, duration, fee and travel costs. All documents for procurement are included.

4. The engagement

A technical check before the session, alignment with the production team, presence at the reception afterwards as far as the schedule allows.

Details for procurement

  • Contracting party: CALADE GmbH, Naabstraße 18, 93188 Pielenhofen, Germany
  • Regensburg district court, HRB 17029, VAT ID DE320517461
  • Written offer before the order; order by purchase order or countersignature
  • Invoice after the engagement, showing VAT separately
  • Travel from Düsseldorf, with an overnight stay the evening before where needed; travel costs against receipts, given as a range in the offer
  • Postponement free of charge up to four weeks before the date if a replacement date is found; for short-notice cancellation the conditions stated in the offer apply
  • Public liability insurance in place, proof on request
  • Supplier declarations, codes of conduct and data processing agreements are reviewed and signed
  • Framework agreements and supplier portals are possible

The fee depends on format, duration, preparation effort and travel. Non-profit organisations, chambers and educational institutions receive separate conditions.

References

What clients say.

An exceptional, highly professional and sincere character. Open-minded, inspiring, grounded in practice and full of creative sparks. He connects people, ideas and things.
Portrait of Ricardo Benites, Volkswagen Ricardo BenitesHead of LACE SAFe
Volkswagen
Mario gives the right impulses to look beyond the boundaries of your own company, to explore and to innovate.
Portrait of Luis Arturo Hernández Salmerón, E.ON SE Luis Arturo Hernández SalmerónHead of Decentral Energy System Innovation
E.ON SE
Mario shows a new world, new perspectives. Disruptive force for change!
Portrait of Dr Charlotte Beissel, Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG Dr. Charlotte BeisselHead of Human Resources
Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG
Frequent questions

What organisers ask before booking.

Does the talk work without prior knowledge in the audience?

Yes, that is the basic condition of this format. At a customer event the head of procurement sits next to the managing director and the technical lead, and nobody has prepared. The talk therefore starts from examples everyone knows and works from there towards the decision at hand.

Technical terms appear where they are needed, and are explained when they do. What is not needed stays out.

Does an external speaker not outshine the host?

He must not, and that is a question of how the slot is cut. The talk raises the question that the host then answers — it does not pre-empt it. What message the host wants to set is clarified in the preliminary call.

In practice that means the external contribution opens the subject and the host occupies it. The other way round rarely works.

What formats work on a trade fair stand?

On a stand stage, 15 to 20 minutes is realistic, because the audience forms as people walk past and disperses again. For a customer event in the evening of a trade fair, 30 to 45 minutes is usual, with conversation afterwards.

For stand stages in hall noise a working sound system matters more than any presentation. Without one, a shorter format is the better decision.

Is the speaker also available for conversations on the side?

Yes, beyond his own slot and as far as the schedule allows. That is often where the conversations happen that nobody starts in the hall — the questions you do not ask in front of two hundred people come up at the reception.

If a question round is part of the programme, it is planned in rather than pushed to the margins.

What does marketing get for announcing the event?

Title, abstract in two lengths, short biography in three lengths (25, 60 and 150 words) and cleared press photos, all available in the speaker kit without asking.

The photos there are cleared at web resolution. For a programme booklet, roll-up or poster we send the originals at 300 dpi with the photographer's credit; a short message to mail@calade.de is enough.

What documents does procurement receive?

The contracting party is CALADE GmbH, Naabstraße 18, 93188 Pielenhofen, Germany, Regensburg district court HRB 17029, VAT ID DE320517461. There is a written offer before the order; the invoice follows after the engagement, showing VAT separately, with travel costs against receipts. Public liability insurance is in place and proof is sent on request. Supplier declarations, codes of conduct and data processing agreements are reviewed and signed. Framework agreements and supplier portals are possible.

Check a date for your customer event.

date, format and guest list are enough for a first answer.

Check a date See the speaker kit

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