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Legendairy stuff or just fluff?

/ dairymilkmaid / 9 Comments

There’s little doubt Australian dairy farmers are feeling a little demoralised and that’s not good for business. The first symptom displayed by farmers lacking confidence is a stubborn refusal to open their cheque books.

And here we are, hunkered down in survival mode, deaf to our leaders’ calls to invest and grow so that Australia can realise its dream of becoming a vital piece of the Asian food bowl.

With all this in mind, then, take a look at the “farmer-side” launch of the new Dairy Australia campaign, Legendairy.

Ad agency, CumminsRoss is to be congratulated for the stirring execution.

In a media release, DA project leader Isabel MacNeill, says Legendairy is “not just a branding exercise” but a singular rallying point that will help develop pride among dairy people, and increase community appreciation for the industry and demand for its products.

The Legendairy platform will be translated into an initial three-year integrated marketing and communication plan focusing on three core audiences:
• Farmers and farm communities
• Consumers, especially parents of young children
• Societal shapers such as policy makers, authorities and health professionals.

According to MacNeill, it’s all about the dairy community telling its own stories about what makes us legendary.

After sleeping on it, I’m guessing Legendairy will polarise farmers. One camp will say, “Yeah, it’s great to get a pat on the back” and the other camp will say “Don’t spend my levy on expensive ads telling me how great I should feel while I’m struggling to pay the bills”.

I must admit I have a foot in each camp. When you’re going through a rough patch, the last thing you want is a pat on the head and this strays dangerously close to that. I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes next.

EDIT: As I walked away from the computer after writing this post, one BIG thing occurred to me: What does DA want out of the farmer-side campaign and how will it be measured? Fewer exits from the industry, greater farmer investment? Lower depression rates among farmers? Sadly, no, I suspect not because no mere communications strategy could realistically hold such worthy objectives. Not now, in any case. Perhaps it would be better timed to build confidence when the tide has truly begun to turn.

So what should farmers be saying to other Aussies?

/ dairymilkmaid / 11 Comments

We’ve all been there: trapped by a bore who talks incessantly about him or herself without drawing breath. It starts off confusing, grows to be annoying until, finally, the desperation to get away and have a real conversation becomes overwhelming.

I think we farmers may be guilty of this social sin. Too often, we are presented as whingers who fail to appreciate that urban Aussies with equally as noble callings (from educating our children through to curing our cancers) can also do it tough.

In our defense, the media generally isn’t so interested in good news stories and the only time we have traditionally appeared on the 12-inch (no, make that 60-inch) screen is during a drought, flood, fire or pest-induced famine. Times when a cheery countenance would be both unlikely and ridiculous!

The face of farming throughout all the challenges was presented in a glorious Dodge Super Bowl ad the other day. In response to my post about it, farmer John Alexander, described it as, “…one of the best Ag ads out there (possibly ever), and I wish we could replicate it in Australia as soon as possible.”.

He’s not concerned that it might alienate city dwellers and neither are people like former career politician, @HenryPalaszczuk, who says, “Aussies have a quiet respect for our people on the land. This ad wold send a shiver down their backs.”.

I know that’s true of many Australians. But I want more. I want to see Australian farmers talk with non-farmers rather than at them and I hope we will learn to do it in a way that resonates for all.

The Dutch have had a go at exactly that. This ad for milk is not perfect (who wants farmers cast as peasants?) but it extends the hand of friendship to our city cousins in a way that “God made a farmer” cannot.

Love of animals, love of land, courage, humility, honesty, purity. These, the essence of Australian farming are values cherished by Australians everywhere. Isn’t it time we celebrated what unites us?

What does a real farmer look like? Something exciting!

/ dairymilkmaid / 1 Comment

Exciting news item number 1: The lame and denigrating Dev and Dale ads seem to have vanished. I await the Co-op’s next breathless announcement regarding its marketing with great anticipation!

Exciting news item number 2: The perfect antidote to Dev and Dale has been created by the Brits. Reality show, Farmers Apprentice, follows 10 people (selected from 600 applicants) as they slug through a five-day bootcamp in a quest to win 10,000 Pounds.

Something like this can be done here in Australia. It’s a wonderful way to show people from all walks of life that farming is neither “McLeod’s Daughters”, “4 Corners” or “Dev and Dale”. It’ll build bridges, inspire new careers and provide an enormous morale boost to crusty types like me.

PS: This is me bathed in glory just the other day.

I declare this trough...open!

I declare this trough…open!

It only took five minutes to install the valve and float but this was the final step in opening up a new paddock that took 18 months to complete. For me, this is what real farming excitement is all about – the thrill of pulling off a big project.