International Ploughing Match: Lessons for B2B Marketers
The International Ploughing Match and Rural Expo is the premiere event of its kind in North America, drawing 80,000 people annually. Find out what’s behind the rustic charm of this B2B content marketing event.
We have “ big doin’s” going on in my local community on the outskirts of the Greater Toronto Area. We’re playing host to the 2023 International Ploughing Match and Rural Expo.
It’s the biggest event of its kind in North America, attracting 80,000 visitors per year. Its location shifts from one year to the next, and communities vie for the opportunity to host the event, which generates $25 million in local economic activity annually.
Ploughers from across North America compete for points reflecting the straightness and neatness of the furrows they create. The match includes categories for both horse-drawn and tractor ploughing.
Massive Tent City With Up to 1,000 Vendors
B2B content marketers in the white collar world may wonder what any of this has to do with their work. I should also mention that the Rural Expo component of the ploughing match generates a massive tent city populated by up to 1,000 agribusiness vendors.
Today’s agriculture is big business and companies that market to farmers are sophisticated B2B content marketers. The International Ploughing Match is the social event of the season for brands like Massey-Ferguson, John Deere, International Harvester, Monsanto and Cargill.
Events marketing is vital for B2B brands. It provides the human touch that critics often accuse B2B content marketing of ignoring.
Encourage Live Participation and Networking
Events provide opportunities to deliver brand messaging in different ways, encouraging live audience participation. They’re also the ideal venue for networking with industry professionals, potential clients, and partners.
So, how did a simple contest that a handful of farmers cooked up in a small town hotel become such a major attraction? There are a number of factors driving the expo’s success over the past century from which B2B content marketers can learn.
Probably the most important is aligning the event’s character with your brand’s voice. The International Ploughing Match celebrates agricultural and rural traditions as well as the traditional work ethic for which farmers are known.
Shuttle Service Uses Hay Wagons Drawn by Tractors
For example, the shuttle service at the event uses hay wagons drawn by tractors. Visitors ride on bales from the parking lot to the trade show exhibitors in the tent city.
This wouldn’t work for most other B2B events, but it sets just the right tone for the agribusiness folks in attendance. These are the kinds of touches that can give an event the appropriate branding.
At the same time, B2B marketing events have to strike a balance between embracing their target industry’s heritage and showcasing innovation. At the ploughing match, horse-drawn ploughs mingle with cutting edge agritech solutions involving GPS, artificial intelligence, autonomous machinery and biotechnology tools.
Marshalling Hundreds of Volunteers and Gaining Sponsorships
The event’s organizers are very astute in terms of planning, coordinating and executing the event. They’ve also become adept at marshalling hundreds of volunteers and gaining sponsorships from both the multinational and local business communities.
Rotating the location is another reason for the event’s enduring success. Scouting out picturesque locations with the community resources to host the expo keeps it fresh and brings it closer to various regional markets.
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The ploughing match format lends itself seamlessly to mixing business with pleasure. Rodeo drills, country music concerts, home cooking and folk art and craft displays suggest themselves because of the event’s established brand voice.
Quintessential “Regular Guy/Gal” Brand
In terms of brand archetypes, the ploughing match is a quintessential “regular guy/gal” brand. As Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson describe this persona, “There is a complete lack of artifice in the archetype, as there is a kind of levelling tendency.”
Mark and Pearson describe twelve archetypes in their book, The Hero and the Outlaw. Your brand may align more closely with the hero, the caregiver, the sage or one of their other suggested archetypes, and your event should reflect that voice.
What we can all learn from the International Ploughing Match isn’t necessarily to be more down-to-earth and relatable but rather to tailor our events to our brand’s voice and our customer personas. The event is an object lesson in marketing’s golden rule, “Know your customer.”
In-Person B2B Marketing Events Jumped from 19% to 49%
Use of in-person events jumped from 19% to 49% in the Content Marketing Institute’s? annual survey of the content types B2B marketers had used in the past year. If you’re one of the many teams relaunching live events, the ploughing match’s example suggests some quick wins for your brand.
Actively engage your target audience. Involve industry experts, partners and other stakeholders. Make sure your event has a strong community spirit.
Offer interactive exhibits and demonstrations rather than a series of workshops with PowerPoint slides in hotel conference rooms. Provide a variety of content formats that encourage discussion and networking.
Provide networking opportunities that help attendees connect with potential collaborators, clients and thought leaders. Don’t be afraid to mix business with pleasure by providing audience-appropriate entertainment to encourage attendees to socialize.
Localize your content by tailoring it to local industries and market trends in your event's location. If you’re repeating your event in multiple cities, adjust your content and encourage the local sales force to help organize and the deliver the exhibits.
The International Ploughing Match and Rural Expo conceals a great deal of business acumen behind its rustic charm. By understanding your target audience and how it perceives your brand’s role, your team's event planning can aspire toward achieving the same kind of success.
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