| Cannes Lions 2013 | ||
|---|---|---|
| PR Lions | Sectors & Services; Crisis and Issue Management | Bronze |
Type of entry: Sectors & Services
Category: Crisis and Issue Management
Advertiser: U.S. FARMERS AND RANCHERS ALLIANCE (USFRA)
Product/Service: NON-PROFIT FARMER AND RANCHER LED ALLIANCE
Agency: KETCHUM Los Angeles, USA
Partner/Associate Director/North American Corporate Practice: Melissa Kinch (Ketchum)
Partner/Director Global Food/Nutrition Practice: Linda Eatherton (Ketchum)
Partner/Midwest Director: Bill Zucker (Ketchum)
VP/Management Supervisor: Maxine Enciso (Ketchum)
SVP/Digital Strategy/Innovation: Gur Tsabar (Ketchum)
Vice President: Mary Seltzer (Ketchum)
Consultant To Ketchum: Rodger Wasson (Ketchum)
Svp/Head Of Brand Integration: Claire Castillo (Ketchum)
SVP/Food And AG: Kim Essex (Ketchum)
Assistant Account Executive: Katie Armitstead (Ketchum)
Account Supervisor: Erika Poppelreiter (Ketchum)
Vice President: Dane Roth (Ketchum)
Managing Account Supervisor: Tara Raeber (Ketchum)
Assistant General Manager: Cindy Hackmann (USFRA)
General Manager: Hugh Whaley (USFRA)
Affiliate/Industry Relations Manager: Abby Rinne (USFRA)
Project Coordinator: Penny Key (USFRA)
Internal Communications Manager: Lisa Cassady (USFRA)
Partner: Keith Yazmir (Maslansky + Partners)
Senior Director/Language Strategy: Jennifer Dahm (Maslansky + Partners)
Describe the campaign/entry
Trust in American agriculture is eroding. Forty-two percent of Americans surveyed by the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance in August 2011 said they believed the US was heading in the wrong direction in the way food is produced. Consumer concerns grow daily, as media stories of antibiotic “superbugs” and GMO “Frankenfoods” run rampant. And for the first time in history, Americans have tools – from Facebook to Twitter – to share their opinions and ask how food is grown or raised.
Until now, an important voice was left out of the nation’s food production conversation – the voice of farmers and ranchers. So USFRA was launched in 2011 to renew trust in American agriculture and launch a movement that would shift “food wars” into productive dialogue.
Through The Food Dialogues movement, which included luminaries from across the food spectrum, USFRA positioned farmers and ranchers at the forefront. USFRA also empowered thousands of farmers and ranchers to lift their voices, share stories and answer tough questions. And through a robust online strategy, the ultimate digital community for farmers and ranchers engaged consumers and influencers in groundbreaking discussions on food.
Farmers and ranchers now had the confidence, tools and platform to share their stories with millions. Results range from a Facebook community that grew by 120,000 “likes” in just five months – 627% above goal. More importantly, USFRA’s efforts are demonstrating that consumer trust is rising. A fall 2012 survey revealed consumers were 10% more likely to have confidence in American agriculture compared to 2011 results.
Describe the brief from the client
• Train 5,000 farmers and ranchers to become agriculture’s storytellers
• Create an online community on Facebook to hold a real-time dialogue on food production questions by securing 16,500 “likes” and an online engagement rating of 5%
• Establish an online destination for consumer-friendly information on food issues and secure at least 17,000 unique visitors in the first six months
• Create awareness for USFRA’s online properties by generating 22 million media partnership impressions
• Increase the number of people who believe agriculture is headed in the right direction
Results
USFRA conducted E.A.S.E. trainings across 22 states with 5,630 farmers/ranchers. USFRA’s Facebook community generated 120,000 “likes” in five months, 627% over goal, and Facebook engagement soared to 24%, or 380% over goal. That’s more than Barack Obama and Ellen DeGeneres combined.
FoodDialogues.com has attracted 1MM+ visits while the first-of-its-kind aggregator, FoodSource, has seen 58,800 unique visitors in just six months, 246% over goal. Through robust media partnerships and bold new communications strategies, the USFRA brand has achieved 33 million targeted impressions, 36% over target.
In August 2011 and October 2012, USFRA conducted national surveys asking consumers whether food production in the U.S. was heading in the right direction or off on the wrong track. Consumers were 10% more likely to have confidence in American agriculture in 2012 compared to 2011, demonstrating a positive shift in the opinion of nearly 12 million consumers nationwide over the course of the year.
Execution
Building a movement on a grassroots level, USFRA gave E.A.S.E. training (Engage Acknowledge Share Earn trust) to 5,630 farmers/ranchers, teaching them storytelling skills and how to listen to detractors’ arguments.
USFRA’s portal, www.fooddialogues.com, supplemented the conversation with a one-stop destination, FoodSource, that aggregated information in consumer-friendly language by farmers and ranchers. An SEO/SEM campaign drove visitors to the site.
Next, USFRA created The Food Dialogues – groundbreaking panel events in LA and NY featuring farmers, ranchers and food luminaries. These livestreamed discussions put farmers and ranchers center stage for the first time. Content was posted to FoodDialogues.com, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
To appeal to new audiences, these events were promoted through partnerships with CBS Sunday Morning and Anderson Live. Lastly, through Facebook, USFRA provided food influencers, consumers and detractors with a platform to discuss food issues with farmers. USFRA built a social media presence through chats led by farmers and ranchers.
The Situation
For more than a decade, commodity groups, food companies and agriculture associations have tried to improve the image of modern agriculture – often through beautiful campaigns about family farms and commitments to producing “safe, affordable and abundant food.” Though millions of dollars were spent, public trust continued to erode.
By conducting research, USFRA and its 80+ agricultural groups and partners gained an important insight – their message was wrong. Consumers want to be reassured that what farmers and ranchers do is safe for long-term health. The coalition came together to answer questions about food wherever concerns were raised – Facebook, Twitter and entertainment.
The Strategy
Our research showed:
• The message “Committed to Safe, Affordable, Abundant Food Production” wasn’t resonating. “Food wars” were so entrenched and polarizing that traditional messages were not seen as credible. Farmers said, “Our methods are proven safe,” but people heard, “Pesticides, antibiotics and hormones may not be safe in the long-run.”
• Americans love farmers, but not farming.
• People care about long-term health effects of what they are eating.
• To gain credibility, farmers and ranchers need to acknowledge concerns, listen and show a commitment to continuous improvement.
Research pointed to a strategy built on dialogue and focused on shifting the national conversation from “safe, affordable and abundant” food to honestly answering consumers’ questions. The ultimate target for this effort included mass connectors driving the conversation – the “moveable middle” (women who make food-shopping decisions and are active in their communities), influencers shaping food decisions on large scales (policymakers, retailers, NGOs), farmers and ranchers.