The 30th edition of trade fair GrootGroenPlus, which took place from 30 September – 2 October, was a very special edition. For the first time, it was a completely digital edition, with 156 participants, including 6 jubilarians. The digital participant profiles on the website and in the trade fair app were expanded, which allowed the participants to paint an even better picture of their business to their digital visitors. 

On top of that, over 50 participants opened up their company for visitors, and more than 40 participants supplied materials for a 1-minute movie. All table discussions were also taped, in the studio that was built especially for the trade fair, and decorated differently on every single day. The participants supplied the decoration.

From this studio in Zundert, we streamed for three days, on two streams, from 9 to 18 o’ clock. The program was very diverse; we sat at the ‘living table’ no less than 17 times, along with motivated table guests, including many participants. We intentionally set a limit of 15 minutes per set, which would allow viewers to combine their ‘digital visit’ with their work. 

Parts from the ‘classic’ GGP

Of course, there was also room for a few ‘classic’ GGP parts, such as digital award ceremonies for the Zunderts Groen Imago award, Jac Lodders award, Jan van Dongen award, and the presentation of the Boomfeestdaglabel. 

Novelties were also put in the spotlight, with three table discussions and five medals, ten KVBC Awards and four Road Show certificates.

Explanatory movies

Besides the different table discussions, we also set aside time for four (digital) company tours and two explanatory movies, about the sensory garden and dying trees. During the table discussions, experts provided their view on the possibilities, the market, and entrepreneurship in general. 

Given all the activities in the market, we can conclude that the industry is doing well, but that it is still very important to have a long-term vision, and to make sure that we adapt to new situations. 

Online visitors

We now know that the digital trade fair received a good number of visitors through the live streams. We had guests from all over the world, and from almost all European countries. We made bilingual recordings of all shows, which we will present to those who were unable to attend the live streams. Especially from countries that didn’t ‘visit’ this edition. 

You can check out the recordings for free via YouTube, but it might be easier to use the participant profile and program pages of the website and/or the app. You can find direct links to the recordings of those parts of the program there.

When it comes to viewers, we see a division of 70/30 (Dutch vs. other languages); the same as with a physical trade fair. The website, trade fair app, web app (over 15,000 views at the end of the trade fair days), Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook also managed to draw in a lot of visitors.

Evaluation

Usually, we would have deconstructed everything, and made some time for the evaluation. Of course, we will do the same this year, but it will be a bit different, since we were hosting a digital trade fair. Because… we’re not done yet. Right now, we’ve put an entire digital trade fair online: the program, the promotional movies, the commercials, the participant profiles, the search options in the supply bank; these will all remain available until 30 November 2020.  After that, we will create our report. You will also have the opportunity to vote for the Road Show until 30 November.

That is why we want to encourage everyone to make use of all these opportunities – especially if you weren’t able to do that between 30 September and 2 October. Connect with new people, check out the different segments, and make use of everything there is. We were a wide digital event and will stay that way for some time. And of course, we will continue to work on bringing participants and visitors together. Through the program in the app, on the website, or the expanded participant profiles. That is why it is not possible to register for the 31st edition until after 30 November 2020.

Physical edition 2021

We hope to be able to host a new physical edition of trade fair GrootGroenPlus in 2021: from 6 – 8 October. The 156 participants we mentioned earlier will be there. And so will some of the positive changes we made this year, such as the expanded participant profile, the supply bank, and the trade fair app. 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR