Fieldays 2024 - the perfect storm creates opportunity to rethink engagement with the rural audience.
National Fieldays has been, for a number of years, the "must attend" event for those wishing to be competitive in servicing the rural industry. Up until the pandemic, many businesses held the belief they couldn't afford not to be there, however since Covid-19 changed the way business is done across all industries and farmers battle with rising interest rates, falling returns and legislative pressures, what farmers, and businesses can afford to attend or exhibit at this event?
Lining up at the coffee carts across the three days, exhibitors muttered amongst themselves about a lack of farmers through the gate, closed wallets and tyre-kickers. I, myself, counted 18 sets of people through our stand in a row who had nothing to do with farming and were just coming "for a look" one morning, before I stopped counting. It was too painful to keep track.
It was brilliant being able to launch the New Zealand Cashmere brand at the summer 2021 event. That year, farmer numbers through the gate were blamed on the event timing, the next event suffering with farmer numbers was blamed on there being a Fieldays only six months earlier but in 2024, what's the excuse? Well I've heard a number of them, but when I look at the pattern of years preceding this event, I don't wholly buy them.
The place of Fieldays is changing, and while there is no way I am aware of that Fieldays tracks who its' audience is as it's not shared with exhibitors, I am confident the number of urban visitors equals, if not outweighs the rural population attending. Is Fieldays destined to be a showcase of rural living and agriculture innovation for the urban and "lifestyler" audience? If so, who exhibits there and why?
It's an exciting opportunity for other exhibitors, how do we now better engage, service and inspire our own target markets? If we are able to retain National Fieldays sized budgets, there's a raft of opportunity available to us all - do we go together? Do we go alone? I for one, believe we are better together and am keen to continue to connect with those of a similar mindset.
#ruralmarketing #ruralengagement #agriculture #fieldays #ruralnz
It looks beautiful Team Burpee!