Farmers proceed to face myriad existential challenges: local weather change, regulation, rising prices and slimmer margins. And household farms are being pushed out of enterprise: In response to 2022 Canadian census figures, the variety of farms has fallen by 44% within the final 45 years, from 338,552 in 1976 to 189,874 farms in 2021.
Canada-based McCain Foods is doing its half to “reimagine” how its companions develop, harvest and maintain the model’s staple product: potatoes. Maybe surprisingly, this contains constructing a sustainable and profitable farming expertise in a digital world.
“We’re attempting to rework the farming group,” mentioned Christine Kalvenes, svp for world advertising at privately held McCain Meals. “We’re attempting to rework the surroundings. It’s actually about driving regenerative farming as a mechanism for the survival of farming general.”
It’s about paying it ahead. [Gen Z] are a gaggle that’s going to know the best way to choose up the baton and transfer from right here.
Christine Kalvenes, svp for world advertising, McCain
The initiative is a part of family-owned McCain’s dedication to implement regenerative agricultural practices throughout its crops by 2030 by enhancing farmer resilience, yield and high quality, whereas lowering artificial inputs.
The 65-year-old model, identified primarily for its frozen meals, should turn out to be “extra forward-thinking,” Kalvenes mentioned. Her aim is to speak the important nature of regenerative farming to a youthful viewers. The model is growing a digital expertise primarily based on real-life operational farms by means of Roblox’s Livetopia.
“It’s about paying it ahead,” Kalvenes mentioned. “[Gen Z] are a gaggle that’s going to know the best way to choose up the baton and transfer from right here. We’re speaking about energy collectively. That’s the correct viewers, that’s the correct group.”
The attraction of gaming
In response to research from Newzoo, Gen Z customers spend 14.9 hours every week partaking with video games and digital worlds, whereas 53% spend greater than half of their time partaking with sport IP in methods apart from enjoying.
In the meantime, gaming content material has additionally grown in reputation throughout non-gaming media platforms, driving curiosity in testing alternatives inside digital worlds.
Kalvenes, who labored with company Gravity Street, started the venture with in-person visits to companion farms. From there, designers started constructing the Farms of the Future digital world, which permits gamers to develop potatoes utilizing regenerative farming strategies, integrating livestock by means of rotational grazing and inspiring biodiversity.
An actual-life ingredient was then launched as a vital part of the marketing campaign. Pop-up NFT-themed eating places allowed gamers to assert Regen Fries. Since we first reported on this in October, greater than 10,000 servings of fries have been handed out throughout Los Angeles, Toronto and London whereas greater than 1,000 items of merchandise has been distributed. The bucket hat is proving to be the most well-liked.
Winners have been additionally given a digital token that will present them to be one of many first to attempt the Regen Fries. One other ingredient of the marketing campaign, #saveoursoil, has amassed greater than 12.7 million views on TikTok.
“We proceed to refine, however the return on funding is fairly excessive,” she mentioned of the response. “The second that you just began intersecting actual with social with digital, the amplification results have been wonderful.”
Kalvenes admits to being stunned that having initially anticipated the degrees of exercise to drop off after December, they’re now planning the subsequent levels after seeing 9 million guests within the first six weeks, a determine that has now risen previous 17 million.
Evolving McCain’s positioning
Since becoming a member of McCain from SC Johnson in 2021, Kalvenes has been targeted on the thought of togetherness. Earlier model positioning was about “households across the desk.” Now, it’s about “a way of belonging,” she defined.
In farming, it’s about displaying folks how one can drive resilience to local weather change, and what that may appear to be.
Christine Kalvenes, svp for world advertising, McCain
Whereas the thought of making a farming sport was an early one, she was undeterred when the company group identified that there are already hundreds of farming video games in existence.
Kalvenes believes success is about speaking the correct messaging, on the proper second, in the correct medium. That could be a mixture of “funnier, quirkier” messages that aren’t at all times concerning the heritage of the model.
Advertising measurement
Whereas Kalvenes is predicated in Chicago, advertising for McCain sits throughout “quite a lot of areas and nations.” To be able to assess marketing campaign effectiveness they use “standardized and conventional strategies,” together with a mixture of modeling for every area and nation to find the best platforms and strategies.
“I take an strategy the place roughly about 70% of the spend goes in opposition to tried and true, the place you’ll be able to produce the ROI. Roughly 20% of the spend goes in opposition to progressive areas, issues which might be somewhat little bit of a stretch. After which 10% is check and be taught,” she defined, noting the digital expertise is the latter. The advertising group additionally makes use of model fairness and model penetration monitoring instruments.
Amid a worldwide financial slowdown mixed with excessive inflation, McCain is attempting to financially help its farming companions. It’s working with credit score unions comparable to Crédit Agricole in France and Farm Credit score Canada to assist farmers not solely keep in enterprise, however undertake regenerative processes.
The corporate has additionally partnered with McDonald’s Canada to launch the $1 million Way forward for Potato Farming Fund.
The model’s objective round togetherness can even proceed to evolve, she added, with messaging already begun within the U.Okay. and a global marketing campaign presently being developed in Canada.
“We discovered a method that was trustworthy and significant to face out,” mentioned Kalvenes. “And in farming, it’s about displaying folks how one can drive resilience to local weather change, and what that may appear to be.”
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