Welcome to Developing Your Farm Brand: How to Identify Your Unique Attributes & Incorporate

Them into Your Marketing Communications

34th Annual NOFA Vermont Winter Conference: Our Soil Our Health

February 13, 2016

UVM Campus All examples used in this presentation are samples of work produced by

Pam Knights Communications for her clients.

1. Identifying What Makes Your Farm Unique 2. Unique Selling Points 3. Brand Development 4. Messaging 5. Logos & Taglines 6. The Brand Promise 7. Branded Print Materials 8. Branded Digital Communications 9. Q&A 10. Drawing for an ad in Vermont’s Local Banquet!

WHAT WE’LL COVER

Arriving at your UNIQUE SELLING POINTS (USP) involves inventorying & identifying the factors that DIFFERENTIATE A BUSINESS OR PRODUCT FROM ITS COMPETITORS. Identify and celebrate “WHAT YOU HAVE THAT YOUR COMPETITORS DON’T”! IE: Multi-generational family farm Historic buildings Heritage or Exotic VT- raised meats Farm stays Sugaring with draft horses

IDENTIFYING WHAT MAKES YOUR FARM BUSINESS UNIQUE

-Strengths, Weaknesses , Opportunities & Threats (SWOT Analysis) -Property, Facilities & Location -Owners & Staffing Resources -Farming Practices & Philosophy -Crops Grown -Animals Raised & Kept -Products Made & Sold -Signature Products -Services Offered -Educational Activities -Events -Weddings

IDENTIFYING WHAT MAKES YOUR FARM BUSINESS UNIQUE

-Customer Base -Target Markets -Business Goals -Sales Outlets -Profitability -Competition -Budget Considerations

• History • Acreage • Open, forested, ponds • Land uses • Conservation • Buildings, infrastructure • Recreational opportunities • Location, accessibility • Parking

ABOUT THE PROPERTY

-Backgrounds

-Generations on the farm

-Former careers

-Skill sets

-Interests

-Passions

-Work outside the farm

ABOUT THE OWNERS

Sustainability Alternative energy sources Draft animals Certified Organic, chemical-free or conventional Pasture raised/grass fed Soil & pasture management Feed sources Meat processing Agritourism

FARMING PRACTICES

Grains & oils

Herbal products

Mushrooms

Exotic VT meats

Logging- wood products

Equipment, fencing

Research & development

Agritourism

DIVERSIFICATION & INNOVATION

Best seller(s) Unusual or specialty crops Seasonal mainstays Maple Culinary & medicinal herbs You-pick berries, fruits and pumpkins Mazes (corn or sunflower) Christmas trees Hay

CROPS

Dairy

Eggs

Meat animals & birds

Heritage breeds

Exotic VT meats

Pasture-raised, Grass-fed

Fiber

“Petting” animals

Horses- riding, draft & wagon rides

LIVESTOCK & POULTRY

• Vegetables and meats

• Value-added foods

• Seasonal items

• Maple syrup

• Baked goods

• Signature items

• Handcrafted items

PRODUCTS

• Cheese

• Wine

• Beer

• Fiber

• Wood

• Canned, Frozen, Baked

• Availability

• Packaging

VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS

Farmstore or farmstand

Greenhouses

Farmers’ markets

CSA

Restaurants & food markets

Special orders

Craft fairs

Online sales

SALES OUTLETS

Bed & Breakfast

Farm inn with dinner

Private guesthouse

On-farm café or coffee shop

Gift shop

ON-FARM LODGING & MEALS

Open farm visits

Harvest festivals

Dinners in the field

PYO with live music

Horse or oxen-drawn wagon & sleigh rides

ON-FARM SPECIAL EVENTS

School visits & tours

Cooking classes

Farming/gardening workshops

Farm craft classes

Yoga classes in the field

Speakers & films

ON-FARM EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

-Co-sponsored events on your farm

-Programs with overnight accommodations provided by local B&Bs

-Farm-related craft and art classes

-Cross marketing opportunities

COLLABORATIVE EVENTS

Event venue

Community activities

Area caterers featuring food from the farm

Proper infrastructure

Best practices- liability

WEDDINGS & CATERED EVENTS

-How much do you produce and have to sell? -How much business are you equipped to handle? -What level of engagement with the public is sustainable for your business and well being? -Have you crunched the numbers? What aspects of your business are most profitable? -What/who is your competition? -Have you done product and price comparisons within your sales area?

NARROW THE FOCUS-- IDENTIFY PROFITABLE PRODUCTS, ACTIVITIES & SERVICES

-What is your reach? -Who are your target audiences? -Have you identified your community allies/collaborators? -Do you have a marketing plan, with short and longer term goals? -What marketing tools do you need? -What is your budget for marketing? What are your priorities? -How much time/staff time do you have to devote to marketing and social media? -Are you committed to marketing as a long term investment?

MARKETING CONSIDERATIONS

THE BRAND PROMISE More than a mission and vision statement, USPs, logo & tagline- not a description of products and services, but how a business provides them and what sort of character it has. A BP creates an EXPECTATION that needs to be defined and consistently fulfilled throughout the life of the business. It describes how people should feel when they interact with the brand. • Connects your purpose, positioning, strategy, people and customer

experience. • Enables a business to connect emotionally with customers and

differentiate their brand • Is what the business stands for & its values • What customers can expect from the business when they interact with the

brand

To motivate customers to buy and to create loyalty, a Brand Promise needs to

• Convey a compelling benefit(s) • Be authentic & credible • Understood and practiced by employees • Be delivered on consistently • Be measurable. • If can’t be measured, can’t be managed. • Promise must be kept, every time. Every decision made about and for the business should be measured against the brand promise to see if it aligns with, and supports it at its core.

Stay True To Your Brand Promise.

Since 1971, NOFA-VT has served as the voice for organic

production for commercial producers, homesteaders and

gardeners. We work to support local, organic farmers and

gardeners, make healthy food more accessible to all Vermonters and

build strong, agriculture-based communities.

We work to help every producer understand the values of farming

organically, and every consumer to understand the impacts of eating

organic food. By building public awareness, we grow markets for

organic food.

Through organic certification, technical assistance, research, policy

and advocacy, we work to grow organic agriculture in Vermont.

NOFA-VT’s “BRAND PROMISE”

Unique Selling Points -Identify the key items that are unique to your farm business. -Narrow them down to 4-6 bullet points, succinctly describing what you offer, that aligns with what you have determined your target audiences need/want.

-These key points will be used in developing your messaging across all of your marketing communications platforms.

BRAND DEVELOPMENT & MESSAGING

Logo

Color palette

Taglines & slogans

USP bullet points

Boiler plate farm descriptions in different character lengths

Consistency!

Website address on everything

Pasture-Raised & Corn-Finished, GMO-Free Vermont

Black Angus Beef

BRAND DEVELOPMENT & MESSAGING

TAGLINE

• Does not need to be overly clever or cute

• Should be functional • Short & concise • Explain unique value offered as

clearly as possible • Convey what business does for its

customers that is unique • Convey at a glance what is offered • Capture the personality of a

business • Accompany the logo where

appropriate, especially if visuals don’t “say” it on their own

Williston’s Community Farm Special Events & Wedding Venue

LOGOS & TAGLINES

A Vermont Farm Stay Destination for All Seasons

Supplying Great Chefs Across America Since 1988

LOGOS & TAGLINES

Sedation-Free Whole Mouth Dental Care to Maximize Your Horse’s

Health & Performance

Farming Since 1999 in Huntington & Richmond VT

LOGOS & SUCCINCT DESCRIPTIONS

Experience small farm living, locally raised farm products, and the seasonal beauty of Central Vermont’s working agricultural landscape.

One of the oldest continuously managed flocks in the nation, tended by four generations of family farmers since the 1920s.

BUSINESS CARDS WITH USP BULLET POINTS

BUSINESS CARD WITH TAGLINE

BUSINESS CARD WITH USP BULLET POINTS

BOILER PLATE DESCRIPTIONS

• Articulate your business description and unique selling points in descriptions of varying word & character lengths from 150 words to 20 words.

• Use these in print, business facebook /about description, at the end of a press release, in online business and membership directories, on your website.

BE CONSISTENT with your messaging across all platforms!

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS PRINT

Business cards- 2-sided Rack cards, brochures, postcards, posters Advertising Packaging Signage Displays Succinct headlines; well written copy, proof read, typo-free High quality photography

MARKETING

COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS- DIGITAL

• Website

• Blog (part of website)

• Facebook business page

• Social media

• Email campaigns

• Video

-Customize your Facebook URL Https://www.facebook.com/help/200712339971750

-Branded cover photo

-Logo or element of your logo for profile pic

- Use boiler plate description

-Ideally post 3-5 x week

- For email campaigns use a similar banner as your FB cover photo.

GOLDEN RUSSET FARM AS AN EXAMPLE

Farming Organically Since 1981 We Know What We Grow!

E-Campaign Header

Facebook Cover Photo & Profile Pic

Healthy & Affordable Meats for Your Family

POSTCARDS

POSTERS

WEBSITES

http://goldenrussetfarm.com/

http://galushahillfarmlodge.com

http://www.libertyhillfarm.com

http://www.rockymeadowfarm.com

http://clayhillfarmbeef.com

http://maplewindfarm.com

http://smithfamilymeats.com

-Q&A -Drawing for a complementary 1/8 page ad in Vermont’s Local Banquet -Please help yourself to a magazine and my business card -This presentation will be posted http://pamknights.com/workshops on Thursday, Feb 18, 2016

Thank you for attending!