Category: Insights

Not so long ago, my understanding of agriculture only extended as far as Ashton Kutcher and The Ranch.

I’ve worked as a marketing professional for years, but I recently moved to a company whose clients are primarily ag-based, and realised that I knew nothing about the market. Growers and ranchers inhabit such a niche space that I couldn’t even guess at their motivations. I joined the company in a performance role, and I was worried that I didn’t understand enough to offer valuable insights.

I signed up for the CAMA Mentorship program after a company-wide recommendation from our CEO. The intake survey was thorough, but not too long, and it obviously did the trick – I was paired with Tom, a mentor who helped me set an excellent foundation of understanding in ag marketing.  

My objective was to learn more about the market, and I wondered if it was too broad for the program, but the guidelines were a big help. Tom and I set out on our journey strategically, identifying specific goals and formulating strategies to attain them.

I enjoyed my regular catchups with Tom, who had a wealth of knowledge to share. I feel lucky – he is a former professor, and delivered information in a way that was relevant and engaging. Tom also reached out to his network to help me in any areas where he thought an additional level of expertise could help.

While ag is still a new space for me, I feel more confident in my knowledge of the market thanks to my mentorship with Tom. I understand what questions to ask, and where I can find the answers.

By: Emma, CAMA Mentorship Program Mentee

Societies around the world have long viewed the start of a New Year as a time for transformation. A time to reflect on what is and what could be, and intentionally start living the latter. Unfortunately, statistics don’t paint a pretty picture for the success of these endeavours as a staggering 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail*.

While research suggests that this rate of failure is attributable to many factors, from setting unrealistic goals to having unrealistic expectations, one of the main issues I’ve seen with this practice is prioritization (or lack thereof). As someone who has been an avid Gym-goer for decades, I inevitably see the influx of new members every year in January, only to see these numbers dwindle to a select few by the time spring hits. And the biggest reason for this, based on the many conversations I’ve had, is time management. 

More specifically, most new members under-estimate the time commitment required to exercise frequently and simply tried to fit it into their existing schedules without giving anything up. And there’s the crux of the matter. Trying to do more without committing to less.

As agri-marketers, we fall into this trap all the time. Especially as new technologies, techniques and innovations permeate our world and demand time and budget that may already be spread too thin. Like the New Year’s resolutionists, we simply tack on more without taking a hard look at what we should be doing less.

While I’ve long since forgotten the book and author that the statement came from, I have always loved the concept of “for every new thing you do, try doing two less”. This extreme commitment to prioritization has shaped my efforts in both expected and unexpected ways and could do the same for you.

Firstly, by forcing yourself to commit to abandoning certain efforts every time you bring on a new one, you will become much more selective in determining which “new things” you can and should try. This will help force you out of the habit of trying things without proper due diligence on their feasibility and desired/expected impact.

Secondly, by having to commit to abandoning existing efforts when you want to bring on new ones, you will become much more diligent in the discipline of performance measurement. For example, if you do commit to stopping two existing efforts for every one new one you bring on, you’ll want to know which existing efforts are and aren’t performing as desired so that you don’t abandon something that’s working and/or keep something that isn’t.

And lastly, given both of the above, you may find as I have that you will become much better at saying no in general. That by taking a more critical and intentional approach to prioritizing your efforts, you will more naturally avoid unnecessary commitments and give up less of your time than you once did. As Steve Jobs once said “I’m actually as proud of the things I haven’t done as the things I have done. Focusing is about saying no.”.  

So, as you start a New Year of agri-marketing endeavours, I wish you the greatest success, and more importantly, hope that it comes through less time and less effort than it did last year.

David Lazarenko,
Partner/Group Account Director, Think Shift

*Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2019/12/21/the-top-3-reasons-new-years-resolutions-fail-and-how-yours-can-succeed/?sh=788895e46992

In agriculture media, programmatic advertising has been emerging at a rapid rate. The digital journey of a farmer is not limited to only agriculture media. Farmers browse the web in the same way as the average consumer, visiting multiple websites a day and consuming content across a variety of categories. 

A farmer is leaving a trail of behaviour and preferences that programmatic companies can then store, enhancing its learning on that customer. Next, they place that customer into a pool where they can be targeted, not only on their interests, but also on the crops they are invested in.

The business of agriculture is much, much bigger than its stereotypes and is rapidly expanding beyond those expected fence posts. Some of the greatest advances in technology are happening in the agricultural business, and agri-marketing is at the forefront of telling this story. On Tuesday, February 9, a panel of marketing experts shared their stories and insights about the importance and evolution of Agri-Marketing. 

For decades, tradeshows have been a go-to staple for agrimarketers around the world. Even in recent years, where the costs of participating in and standing out at tradeshows have made it increasingly difficult to generate positive ROI, agrimarketers have still treated these events as annual “must-haves”. That said, given the restrictions COVID has placed on attending in-person events, agrimarketers have started to question the value of virtual tradeshow alternatives. Many have decided to abandon these shows altogether in favor of immediate cost savings resulting in the cancellation of a large number of these annual events, mainly due to an overall lack of exhibitors willing to participate.

After 20+ years of conducting business in the digital era, we are starting to reach an age of maturity when it comes to our digital ecosystems. Gone are the days where simply existing on social media or having a website was sufficient. Instead, customers are expecting more out of their online interactions with brands.