Bringing the Best Ideas Forward

What happens when MorganMyers sends a Generation Xer and a Millennial to the 2018 National Agri-Marketing Association Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota? Different perspectives, different experiences and a whole lot of appreciation for what people from each generation bring to the table.

Marketing across generations will intensify

The conference kicked off with a presentation by Ryan Jenkins, a next generation catalyst, who outlined the differences in communication and leadership tactics across the generations, as well as their various technology preferences. With technology in the digital age constantly evolving, we were reminded that to remain relevant, everyone in today’s workforce needs to be adaptable, especially when it comes to our communication efforts.

Here are a few examples:

Ask better questions

Another general session speaker, Jay Acunzo, founder of Unthinkable Media, encouraged the audience of marketers to think for themselves and ask better questions. “You can ask better questions in your situations,” said Acunzo, who encouraged everyone to act like investigators to uncover innovative solutions to problems and find the hard-to-reach truths that generate emotional reactions.

In an industry that thrives on gaining attention, Acunzo reminded everyone that when we pay more attention to the customer than the industry, the customer pays more attention to us. “Resonate instead of reach,” he said, referring to the power of capturing the attention of people that will become key influencers.

A journey of transformation

For an organization that was thought of by many as solely a “butter company,” bold changes are underway from Land O’Lakes to position them as a member -owned agricultural cooperative, not just consumer-facing dairy products. The company’s Chief Marketing Officer, Tim Scott, shared insights on the transformation he’s leading across their brands for this monumental effort. His message to us embodied “finding a purpose for the future” and “changing the conversation” to make the most impact.

To demonstrate this transformation Tim shared a couple “stop-you-in-your-tracks”-esque videos from the Land O’Lakes brands:

• They rewrote the song for the women rewriting the rules. She-I-O pays tribute to women in agriculture through a play on the famous Old MacDonald song.
• And grab a Kleenex for this one. Here’s emotional marketing at its finest with a Purina video about a bond that can never be broken. April & Dixie is a story of a girl who finds her way back to her Clydesdale after many years apart.

Tim shared some key learnings through the transformation process:

• ‘Purpose’ is the north star
• Take fewer, bigger bets
• Create conversations on difficult topics

That’s a wrap

While the Generation Xer and the Millennial have similar, yet different, take-a-ways from the conference, one thing’s for sure – as the conference tagline implied – fresh ideas were certainly brought forward.