For the first time in 51 years, Fieldays is going online and its motoring partner is joining the Southern Hemisphere's largest agricultural event as it goes digital.

Due to the ongoing issues with Covid-19, Fieldays organisers cancelled a physical event at Mystery Creek, Waikato from June 10-13.

Instead, it’s promoting Fieldays Online where virtual stall holders “can connect, sell and create a unique experience for your customers for all things agricultural, using our multi-media platform to grow your business”.

Fieldays 2019 generated $549million in sales revenue for New Zealand businesses, and the organisers say they “understand the importance of this event to you as exhibitors. Fieldays Online is our response to the current global uncertainty, our way of keeping you connected to your valuable Fieldays audience”.

The event will be “heavily marketed across New Zealand, with a large focus on producers, importers and exporters, consumers, and business professionals within the Primary Industries”.

“Without the constraints and limitations of a physical event, this opens the event to global players and exposure to all industries and individuals across New Zealand – the possibilities are literally limitless,” it says on its website.

Fieldays is an important date for the motoring industry where Mystery Creek almost becomes the New Zealand motor show with many vehicle distributors using a large portion of their marketing budget to create interactive sites at the Waikato venue.

Car companies also use Fieldays as a promotion for their vehicles at dealership levels and online.

Many farming businesses use Fieldays to purchase vehicles for their fleet and car companies see an increase in sales in June each year due to the event.

But with Fieldays going virtual, car brands may be reconsidering their involvement in the event, however going digital will be cheaper than a physical site. Some vehicle brands and dealerships have spent six figures in creating an interactive site at Mystery Creek, with the inclusion of four-wheel-drive courses to draw in potential buyers.

For Fieldays Online, a platinum digital site will cost $35,000, premium site $20,000, gold site $15,000 and for a standard site $3,000.

Hyundai New Zealand told AutoMuse that it will be involved in Fieldays Online this year.

“As a long-standing partner of Fieldays society and exhibitor of the event, we will go on the journey with them as they reinvent themselves online this year. We are in the very early stages of exploring what Fieldays Online would look like for us,” says the company.

Some car brands approached by Fieldays are still considering involvement with marketing budgets cut due to the lack of vehicle sales due to lockdown Level 4.