Client:
Industries:
- Agriculture
Services:
- Strategy and Planning
- Creative and Content
- Digital Marketing
- Audience Engagement
- Interactive Development
Corn drives the economy of South Dakota. In fact, nearly one of every three dollars generated by South Dakota agriculture begins in a corn field.
Challenge
The impact of agriculture
Even in a state where agriculture accounts for 30% of all economic activity, many people don’t understand today’s farming practices.
One of the goals of the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council is to educate consumers on issues related to agriculture, including economic impact, sustainability, conservation and wildlife and technology.
Building and maintaining trust
Even in a state where many are just a generation or two removed from the farm, a significant number of people don’t understand what they see happening on farms.
Our in-state consumer research shows that while a great majority of consumers have favorable attitudes toward farming, they want to better understand farming practices.
Why is this so important? Misunderstanding can lead to fear and mistrust. There’s plenty of misleading information on farming being spread around, which means it’s critical to set the record straight.
Approach
Telling farming’s story
In marketing, it’s said that if you don’t tell your own story, someone else will—and it probably won’t be to your liking.
This Is Farming doesn’t just tell consumers what farmers are doing. It shows specific farming practices, including cover crops, precision farming and soil health.
The campaign targets consumers in the state’s largest cities, running from late October through early April. Every campaign element sends the audience to the campaign microsite: ThisIsFarming.org.
Results
Moving the needle
Every two years, we research consumer attitudes; since our campaign began, the segment with the most negative feelings about farming has decreased.
Metrics from the campaign show a significant increase in traffic to ThisIsFarming.org each year.