Our Survey Said…

The events industry has been living in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic for 18-months. The CEA’s Plantworx trade show was just one of the events to be affected, not once but twice – as plans for the exhibition to be held in 2021, and then 2022, were shelved as a result of the covid crisis.

Plantworx will return in June 2023, where the show will once again open its doors to construction professionals nationwide. While this is still some time away, the Plantworx team wanted to understand the appetite of Plantworx visitors in attending ‘live shows’ in light of the ongoing impacts of the pandemic.

Gobby is a survey company with a difference! The company believe stakeholder perceptions are important and they drive people’s behaviour. Gobby aims to close the ‘perception gap’ between management and key stakeholders. Engagement is asking stakeholders the right questions and listening to the answers. 4,999 visitor records were identified from the GDPR compliant Plantworx database and Gobby prepared some relevant questions.

The first of which was, “based on the current Covid-19 situation and prospects, when might you feel confident in attending live events and trade shows? 40% of the respondents said that they were confident to attend. 27% of respondents said “let’s get on with it!”

Question two was “have you attended any virtual (or hybrid) trade events during the period of Covid-19? If so, what are your views on them? An interesting split in responses with 60% of respondents stating that they did not attend any virtual (or hybrid) events during the pandemic. This clearly suggests a lack of perceived value in these events for many.

Those that did attend virtual events did not have anything positive to say about them saying that they “did not like it at all and that trade events are all about networking, sharing knowledge and meeting suppliers face to face.” And “not the same as a live show… not possible to really look at the equipment and pick up brochures.”

Participants were also asked “what would you particularly wish to see included in the next live Plantworx show? Visitors were driven by new technology and measures to minimise the environmental impact in using plant and machinery. Also, the appetite for knowledge was a key message coming from the responses to this question, particularly around technological advancements aimed at tackling climate change.

Visitors see Plantworx as a ‘custodian’ of knowledge and influence in bringing industry partners together to meet the challenges of tomorrow. With such positive responses and a clear appetite for attending live construction shows and technology, Plantworx will be hosting a two-day technology event in March 2022 – read more about this event on page 31 of this issue of Construction Worx.