Trade Shows: A Must or a Bust in 2025 – Shift•ology Communication

Trade Shows: A Must or a Bust in 2025?

By Emily Bennett

We’re fresh off the 2024 Farm Science Review, one of the Midwest’s largest farm shows. This event is always a great chance for our team to visit with exhibitors, take note of the eye-catching displays and get a pulse on emerging trade show trends.

Many of the clients we serve, like Farm Science Review, and their industries are seeing shifts in how trade shows meet new business challenges and opportunities. Let’s dive into the top trade show trends in these sectors – agriculture and healthcare, specifically – and explore how they align with broader marketing-communication strategies to achieve business goals.

Top Trade Show Trends in Agriculture and Healthcare

1. Hybrid Events

Hybrid events, which combine in-person and virtual experiences, have continued to gain traction post-pandemic, as exhibitors and attendees experience the enhanced opportunities for learning and engaging in multiple ways. In the agriculture industry, farm shows are adding digital components that allow farmers, manufacturers and agribusinesses to connect with global audiences. Healthcare, already a tech-driven field, has adopted similar models for medical conferences and trade shows. Virtual booths, live-streamed sessions and digital networking opportunities are becoming the standard. (Just ask our very own Dan Toland about his experiences with hybrid events through our Virtual Farm Trips® program.)

Marketing/PR tie-in: Hybrid events allow companies to engage with a broader audience and collect data from digital touchpoints. This expands the reach beyond physical attendees and creates more opportunities for nurturing leads post-event. It also provides long-term value through content that can be repurposed, such as recorded sessions or virtual demos.

2. Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Practices

Sustainability has become a priority across industries, and trade shows are no exception. In agriculture, where environmental stewardship is a core focus, trade show organizers and exhibitors are increasingly seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. This includes using eco-friendly booth materials, minimizing waste and promoting sustainable farming practices. Similarly, the healthcare industry is embracing sustainability by reducing plastic use, minimizing giveaways and opting for energy-efficient display set-ups.

Marketing/PR tie-in: Highlighting a company’s commitment to sustainability can help align trade show participation with brand values and corporate social responsibility initiatives. It also offers opportunities for storytelling around eco-conscious practices, which resonate with today’s consumers and clients.

3. Enhanced Data Collection and Personalization

Trade shows are adopting more advanced data collection tools, allowing exhibitors to capture information from attendees in real time. QR codes, RFID badges and event apps are becoming indispensable for tracking booth visits, gathering contact details and understanding attendee behavior. The data collected is then used to personalize follow-up communications and create more targeted marketing campaigns.

Marketing/PR tie-in: By integrating trade show data with a company’s CRM and marketing automation tools, businesses can create personalized and relevant post-show communications. This data-driven approach improves lead nurturing and helps convert prospects into customers, ensuring that trade show investments lead to measurable business outcomes.

4. Immersive Technology and Product Demos

For industries like agriculture and healthcare, where complex products and innovations are key, immersive technologies are taking center stage at trade shows. In agriculture, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) allow farmers to experience new machinery or equipment in action. Healthcare exhibitors are using VR to simulate medical procedures or product usage. These hands-on experiences are invaluable for helping attendees understand the benefits of new products or services.

Marketing/PR tie-in: Incorporating immersive technologies not only enhances the trade show experience but also aligns with a broader digital strategy. These tools can be integrated into other marketing channels, such as video content for websites or social media, maximizing the ROI of trade show investments.

5. Thought Leadership and Educational Content

In both of these industries, trade shows are evolving from being purely transactional events to becoming hubs for education and thought leadership. Agriculture shows often feature expert panels on sustainability, technology and industry trends. Healthcare trade shows offer continuing education sessions for professionals, helping them stay updated on regulatory changes and medical advancements.

Marketing/PR tie-in: Participating in or sponsoring educational sessions at trade shows helps position a company as an industry leader. These opportunities build brand credibility and trust, making it easier for companies to foster long-term relationships with clients and partners. Content from these sessions can also be repurposed for webinars, whitepaper, or social media, amplifying the reach of the trade show.

The Strategic Role of Trade Shows in Marketing-Communication Plans

While trade shows are a significant investment, their role in a comprehensive marketing-communication plan is vital for the foreseeable future. Here’s how they tie into achieving broader business goals:

Brand Visibility: Trade shows are prime opportunities for companies to showcase their brand in front of targeted audiences, from industry professionals to potential customers. They offer face-to-face engagement, allowing brands to make lasting impressions.
Lead Generation: The direct engagement at trade shows generates high-quality leads, many of which can be immediately qualified. When combined with digital marketing tactics, these leads can be nurtured into sales opportunities.
Product Launches: Trade shows are ideal platforms for launching new products, as they provide real-time feedback and give companies the chance to demonstrate their innovations in action. This can generate buzz and media coverage that extends beyond the event itself.
Market Research: Trade shows offer companies a chance to gather insights on competitors, customer preferences and emerging trends. These insights can inform future marketing strategies and product development.

Now’s the time to be thinking about your 2025 marketing-communication plan and how trade shows are evolving to meet the demands of today’s business environment. By embracing trends like hybrid events, sustainability and immersive technology, companies can maximize the ROI of trade show participation and ensure that these events remain a vital part of their marketing-communication strategy. Whether your goal is to build brand awareness, generate leads or establish thought leadership, trade shows offer a powerful platform to reach those objectives in a meaningful way.