John Deere pulls out of international tradeshows
Major farm machinery exhibitor John Deere has pulled out of all international agricultural and turf trade shows in Europe and the CIS during the company’s 2021 fiscal year running from 1 November 2020 to 31 October 2021.
Instead, John Deere says it will use a new marketing mix of traditional and digital tools to deliver information to customers.
A statement from John Deere said: “Events of the last few months have profoundly changed everyone’s working and social lives. The protection of people’s health and safety is now more critical than ever, while maintaining close contact with customers is still important to provide reliable services in these uncertain times.”
The move affects shows like Agromek in Denmark, EIMA in Italy and Eurotier in Germany, all scheduled for early next year. However, it seems John Deere will be present at the big farm machinery show Agritechnica in Germany as it is set for November 2021.
Denny Docherty, John Deere vice president sales and marketing for region 2, said: “The pandemic has changed the world and our industry is undergoing a period of great change too. This also applies to our marketing activities.”
John Deere says its key focus in 2021 will be the change in its operating model to become a ‘smart industrial company.’
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As previously announced, John Deere is moving towards being a production system-based organisation in order to build a more customer-driven and streamlined business.
This is one of the biggest organisational restructurings in the company’s 183-year history, which requires a change of marketing approach and an extended focus on Precision Ag technologies.
As well as cancelling its show attendance, John Deere has called for an overhaul of the show calendar. As it stands, there are quite a few trade shows held close to each other’s dates, creating problems for exhibitors.
“We are also expecting a major change in the exhibition landscape, driven by Covid-19 and digitalisation,” said Andreas Jess, John Deere director marketing, region 2.
