But agriculture was not telling its stories as an industry. The word producer was often used instead of farmer, to which customers related much more strongly.
Brands could be used to;
- Create customer loyalty.
- Command a price premium.
- Give a strong framework to integration so less marketing was needed.
- Increase media reach through greater customer communication.
- Build a platform for growth, giving identification and equity for new products.
Brand communication worked because it cut through clutter, facilitated delivery of a promise and tapped into emotional drivers.
“And what could be more emotional than feeding the world?”
He outlined eight principles he said agriculture needed to bear in mind to do a better job. It needed to look at its purpose and put weight on people’s interests well as those of businesses. To do this it needed to choose a brand message which associated it with values wanted to uphold.
It needed to be different as with 3.2 billion Facebook comments/day and 340 million tweets there was a lot of competition for attention.
“We should be doing that more often to reframe our brand,” he said.
Brands needed to surprise and delight the consumer as many more shared a “wow” experience with friends rather than a good one.
There was also a need for consistency to build trust as that translated into reputation.
“The public is more likely to judge an organisation on how it handles a problem rather than how it got into the problem in the first place.”
Relentless implementation was needed to tell a brand story again through letterhead, reception, packaging and trade shows.
“Every point of communication is a moment of truth for a brand.”
Opportunities needed to be identified to associate with brands with similar values and new technology needed to be embraced.
“And you need to live the brand with passion.”