Cream of the crop: How Agriconnect uses technology to host the UK’s leading farm machinery show

The first edition of the Preston Guardian was published in 1844. From those humble beginnings, Agriconnect has grown to be the UK’s largest agricultural information business.

For 180 years, it has been the trusted source of information for farmers. Agriconnect has built a strong community that serves agriculture by keeping it informed and providing commercial trading opportunities. It offers a range of digital content solutions, awards, publications, and in-person events. Its flagship event, LAMMA, connects farmers with over 600 exhibitors showcasing cutting-edge technology, machinery, and equipment.

At the show, there are exclusive launches from global brands like JCB and Massey Ferguson, with opportunities for participants to get behind the wheel of some of the biggest and best new machinery. Attendees, like Jeremy Clarkson and Kaleb Cooper,  also enjoy networking opportunities and interviews with industry leaders, discussing the latest developments and issues affecting UK farming.

"LAMMA is a sell-out show every year," said Group Marketing Director, Samantha Sharp. "In 2026, we are excited to welcome a new hall that will provide the additional space that’s in high demand. We will be co-locating two of our other events, CropTec and Low Carbon Agriculture, to create the ultimate agricultural event."

Sowing the seeds: New tech for a traditional audience

As the longest standing media company in agriculture, Agriconnect has built a strong reputation with its audience. LAMMA is the conference venue’s largest show in terms of square meters, and the Agriconnect team is always looking for ways to bring in new areas to enhance the experience for attendees. It's not just a numbers game, it's about connecting quality attendees with exhibitors. 

However, the company’s unique audience brings its own set of challenges. “We have a wide spectrum of personas in our business,” explains Rachel Lewis, Head of Events Marketing.  “From “Defender Dave” who still uses his old Nokia 3210 phone to “Progressive Paula” who’s comfortable using an app to read the latest industry updates.”

Agriconnect is leading the digital transformation agenda in agriculture, traditionally known for its print-focused audience. While print remains strong within the community, Agriconnect is actively educating its audience on digital platforms and rapidly expanding its digital reach, resulting in a shift in industry trends.

As a result, the team is educating visitors to download a mobile event app so they can get the most out of the event. Whilst a difficult audience to convert, the Agriconnect team are employing the latest strategies to get maximum event app adoption. 

Cultivating event app adoption in agriculture

While LAMMA attendees are split between digital savvy and those slower to adopt technology, Agriconnect itself is always looking for ways to maximize its use of the latest technology. Sarah Whittaker-Smith, Group Portfolio Director, said: "Without education, we won't convert participants to adopt technology that delivers a better event experience. However, each year we sway more of our audience towards this valuable technology"

The team runs all of its events, from CropTec to the Land Leisure and Tourism show using Grip’s event platform. Currently, Agriconnect mainly uses the app for the interactive directory feature, search intent and push notifications. This keeps participants informed and able to find the exhibitors they’re looking for on the show floor.

To make things as easy as possible, Agriconnect uses Grip’s Native Integrations feature to gather details from exhibitors, then automatically passes it through to Grip’s event platform. This means the app is pre-loaded with all the relevant exhibitor information so attendees can find the exhibitors they are interested in meeting. This also means exhibitors only need to log into one platform and enter their data once. This removal of friction sets them up for success as they’re more easily found in the app by attendees, boosting the value they get from the show.

On the attendee side, Agriconnect adds ‘info pods’ to their events, a physical location at every access point where people are encouraged to download the app before entering the venue. Attendees who downloaded the app also received a bonus entry into a draw for an UTV farm vehicle, further driving app adoption.

This type of competition is another way Agriconnect can learn more about the event attendees. The more the team knows about its audience, the better they’re able to serve them. “We rely on data,” says Daniel Lawless, Senior Marketing Technical Lead.   “We ask lots of demographic questions when you attend our event. We want to know about our attendees and the future of agriculture. We have a really good data team able to follow that journey across the whole Agriconnect business.”

Unearthing extra value with digital insights

For Danny, the push notifications in Grip’s mobile event app were one of the biggest benefits of using the Grip platform. “We monitor the sessions and if something’s quiet on the show floor, or if the schedule changes, we can send out specific push notifications to let people know about it. You can visibly see people respond and flock to these sessions, which is really gratifying.”

One of the unexpected benefits came from Grip’s Insights feature, which gives Agriconnect the ability to see what keywords people are using when searching within the app. This goes beyond the standard demographic information, giving intent data which reveals what people are interested in and the types of sessions that are likely to be most popular. 

The search data is also proving useful when talking to possible sponsors and exhibitors. For example, John Deere, one of the biggest manufacturers, wasn’t at the latest event. However, the Agriconnect team was able to see that a large number of people were trying to find the company in the app. As a result, Agriconnect’s sales team has the data they need to approach John Deere and let them know exactly how many potential customers are actively looking for them at LAMMA. 

The future forecast for LAMMA

Looking ahead, Agriconnect will continue working with Grip to find new ways which add value to its events. LAMMA already boasts an impressive Net Promoter Score of 59, significantly above the industry average but the wider team is also planning to roll out the platform to its finance portfolio event, which has a more tech savvy audience who can take advantage of Grip’s more advanced features. 

The team is also planning to expand their use of Grip at LAMMA and implement some of the other features, such as turn-by-turn navigation to help people find their way around the venue. “People have made the first step and are more familiar with the idea of using an app,” says Sarah Whittaker-Smith, Group Portfolio Director. “Now they want that next bit, to show them how to get there.”

In addition, Sarah intends to maximise the use of the app’s onboarding questions. “We can use it as an additional way to collect data and not only to power those AI connections between participants but also just to learn a bit more about the audience, whether that’s exhibitors or visitors.”

As the agricultural sector continues to plow ahead and embrace new technology, Agriconnect will continue reaping the rewards from event technology, growing its events for another 180 years.

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