There’s one thing we know for sure: the digital age we currently live in is disrupting everything – from how we build relationships to how we shop to how we market.
It was with that certainty that we were proud to sponsor the Speaker Seminar at Best of CAMA 2017 in Regina earlier this month. We’re constantly looking for the places where disruption is present, but more than that, we’re constantly looking for the places where disruption is possible. Disruption, in our minds, is an opportunity.
This year’s theme was Agriculture & Food: A Look Into the Future – What’s the next conversation? and we saw the spark of disruption in every speaker’s presentation.
We’ve all been there: trapped in a holiday table debate with Cousin Lisa, who’s convinced that GMOs are part of Big Pharma’s plan to make us all sick, that cows are pumped up on hormones and that there’s gotta be something to the no-carbs, no-sugar, no-water, only square foods diet that her favourite Kardashian is touting on Instagram.
How do we disrupt the conversation, both at our family tables and for consumers? Social media is constantly abuzz with the latest, greatest cure for everything.
Timothy Caulfield, during his talk When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash shone a spotlight on how Hollywood is driving these inaccurate and often infuriating conversations, and how those of us involved in ag can join in. Presenting data to the audience in the form of narrative is one way. Creative communications through graphics and visuals is another.
But Caulfield also suggests we call bunk science exactly what it is – bunk. He points out that products are often marketed using a method he calls “scienceploitation” – the use of a sliver of real science to make health claims about their product or diet that simply don’t exist. This is confusing the consumer, and part of our job is to help reduce that confusion. Cousin Lisa’s fear of GMOs exists because she doesn’t understand them.
What makes you choose ruffled potato chips over kettle cooked? Is it habit? Flavour? Packaging? How about when you decide to try something completely new to you? What drives that decision?
For Three Farmers co-owner Elysia Vandenhurk, she’s been contemplating those questions since she and her sister Natasha first appeared on Dragon’s Den in 2012. Her talk provided a wealth of insights into the challenging (and expensive) process of getting your product onto the grocery store shelf, and the even more challenging process of getting it into the shopper’s cart.
The ticket is in disrupting the shopper’s habit.
Three Farmers uses focus groups and market research to help guide their branding and packaging decisions, as well as to provide feedback on flavour, texture and crunch for there roasted pea and chickpea snacks. Vandenhurk also says that pricing, promotion and placement can help to sway the customer away from the familiar choice.
You might think the biggest disruption to big box stores is the small box you’ve got in your pocket and the ability it has to connect you with every product and retailer you could dream of, delivered right to your door.
Nielsen Canada’s Carman Allison’s talk Best Bets for Growth and What Makes the Consumer Tick? confirms that – online shopping is moving some consumers away from visiting physical stores. But that’s only part of the picture.
Another opportunity for food lies in the shift of consumer dollars from the big box stores to major discounters. Dollar stores and bulk warehouses are another place our increasingly money conscious audience is choosing to spend their hard-earned cash.
The path for most young farmers is pretty clearly set from day one, especially for a young farming couple in Saskatchewan.
And yet, Barb Stefanyshyn-Coté and her husband didn’t follow it. In retelling her family’s journey from grain farming in Leask, through Mexico and Chile, to cut flowers and the distillery they now run just outside of Saskatchewan, we were struck by just how many times Stefanyshyn-Coté has been willing to ask “Why not?” The flexibility to pivot, to experiment, to try something just outside of ordinary is a skill we’re sure is born in the field for most growers, and seeing possibility in action was a sweet note to end the Speaker Seminar on.
(Plus, we believe any conversation that happens over handcrafted spirits is one worth having, and Stefanyshyn-Coté kicked off her talk with a sample of Black Fox Distillery’s delicious and award-winning gin.)
We’d be remiss if we only told you about the Speaker Seminar and didn’t go on to share a bit about the Best of CAMA 2017 Gala.
We were, as always, proud to be part of the group of stellar Canadian agri-marketers that gathered to celebrate the work, the industry and each other. There was inspiration everywhere – in the work which was presented and honoured, in the speech by Amanda Mitchell, recipient of a 2017 CABEF scholarship and especially Lillie Ann Morris’ CAMA Lifetime Achievement award, and Terry Andryo’s Agri-Marketer of the Year award.
And we were especially honoured to bring four awards and three Certificates of Merit back home with us to our Calgary office, where they’ll serve as aremind to our entire team that the spark of disruption can start great creative fires.
Direct Mail Print – Winner: Arysta LifeScience for Rancona Pinnacle
Company and Association Magazines – Winner: Arysta LifeScience for Newground
Specialty Advertising & PR Campaign – Winner: Cat Healthy for That’s Cat For
Radio Commercial – Series – Winner: Morris Industries for Market Watch
Company or Producer-Funded PR Campaign Element – Consumers – Certificate of Merit: Mealshare for Tonight for Tomorrow
Specialty Advertising & PR Campaign – Certificat of Merit: Elanco for “What’s your dog?”/”Who is your cat?” In Clinic/Social Campaign
Specialty Promotion, Sales Support Materials, Literature, Corporate Literature, French – Certificate of Merit: Elanco “What’s your dog?”/”Who is your cat?” In Clinic/Social Campaign
Thank you to all of our colleagues, clients and friends in the agri-marketing world! For a full list of the winners, visit Best of Cama 2017.
We’re excited for next year in Montreal! Can’t wait to see you all there.
