Our Thinking

With four out of five ag tradeshows going either semi-virtual or full virtual, and recent Farm Bureau research indicating that 65% of US farmers have concerns about on-farm visits due to COVID-19, it’s clear that the new agrimarketing reality thrust upon us four months ago is showing no signs of letting up. Building on that information, we’ve put together this list of what we see as the top three do’s and don’ts for agrimarketers in the COVID-19 era.

On-farm succession planning has always been a hot topic that undoubtedly weighs heavy on the minds of every grower whether they represent the older generations trying to figure out how to make a graceful, gradual exit or the younger ones looking to make their mark. However, while this is also true of the ag-service sector – alarmingly, there has not been any alarm.

Over the past few years, organizations in every sector have felt the need to digitize their operations. As consumer buying behavior continues to change at a radical pace, it's sparked an entire industry around "transformation"—the quest to re-invent conventional processes to align with the modern consumer.

If data is the new oil, the web form is the derrick we use to extract it. The big difference is that the people drilling for oil have a pretty good idea of why they want it and how they're going to use it. On the other hand, agriculture companies go to great lengths to extract data, but often leave those barrels of 'digital gold' rusting in storage.

As customers get “back to normal” it will be extremely interesting to see just how many of these same marketers and agrimarketers keep up the commitment to change, and how many fall back into their old ways.

There is no denying that current market conditions have compounded the difficulty of hitting game-winning home runs that significantly move the sales and/or market-share needle. Furthermore, while these “big wins” are the stuff of marketers’ dreams...

Understanding the relationship between the story, strategy and cost will allow you to budget for video content that yields successful results, no matter the scope of production.

Over the last 20 years, the way people research and buy products and services has changed dramatically. In the past, when your customers were researching the best equipment or crop inputs to buy, they might consult their family, friends or retailer, but they ultimately...

As most of you know, while our budgets may have been reduced, expectations for results rarely follow suit. What this means is that we must all achieve the same, and sometimes more, with less and have little time to shift course. So, what should you do?

For years, I’ve enjoyed working during the winter and summer holidays as it would inevitably provide ample time, free of the usual distractions of emails, calls, meetings, etc., to do some much-needed housekeeping. These efforts would typically focus on items such as...