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“What will the future look like and what investments does your organization need to make to take advantage of it?”

This was the question posed by Franck Schuurmans, PhD, Senior Consultant for Decision Strategies International, Inc. And it was the ideal forward-thinking platform from which to launch the inaugural 2008 NAMA Trends in Agriculture Conference.

This year, NAMA changed the name of the Agribusiness Forum to Trends in Agriculture. The move was made to directly reflect the meeting’s mission of exploring emerging trends and challenges faced by agri-marketers across the industry.

This year’s topic was the burgeoning rural lifestyle market and the decision makers who define it. A record-setting 175 professionals attended the two-day event, up more than 35% from last year.

Dr. Schuurmans opened the conference with an eye-opening look at how limiting our own experience-based perspective can be as we consider future strategic options. He used a number of case studies and exercises to demonstrate how the cost of excessive focus can be loss of peripheral vision.

Dan Duffy, CEO of United Country Real Estate—a national real estate franchise system specializing in properties in and around small cities and towns—quickly gave attendees the chance to apply those principles.

There has been considerable publicity on the current challenges of real estate. Sales of rural acreage, while stronger than many sectors, are also slowing. In response, United Country has honed its strategies of promoting and supporting lifestyle amenities and helping owners increase the value of their land by improving recreation assets.

The company’s approach is based on a combination of careful analysis and proprietary research and attendees benefited from a broad range of supporting data they could apply to their own market situation.

Wednesday began with a revealing session on the demographics, attitudes, buying habits and other key indicators about the rural lifestyle market from Susan Spaulding, Market Directions, and Courtney Yuskis, Country Living Association.

Spaulding emphasized that extensive research revealed that rural lifestylers are connected with their communities and engaged with multiple social networks. She also noted rural lifestylers are more technologically savvy than most people realize and receive an enormous amount of marketing messages.

Craig Elbert, a Marketing Strategist with Hallmark Cards explored the concept of winning customers by understanding your brand essence in terms of the “jobs” your product or service performs for them.

For Hallmark, one of America’s most well-established and well-recognized brands, that essence is “caring.”

Yet, as Elbert explained, the company’s success has never been based solely on understanding the historical context, but by projecting brand essence through changing market conditions. He shared how the company uses its “Value Star^TM” to apply this process to individual products.

The closing panel, moderated by Bruce Thomas, Rural Lifestyle Communications Consultant, explored the “commonalities” and “conflicts” of the two primary segments in today’s agricultural marketplace: the rural lifestyle and farmer markets.

Primary differences noted included gender roles and perspectives on the quality/cost (value) continuum. However, panelists also emphasized that both segments share a strong sense of independence/self-reliance, appreciation of outdoor activities and belief in the importance of family.

As part of the conference, NAMA also recognized its Professional Development Awards of Excellence Winners. Honors went to Paul Redhage, Communications Manager, FMC Agricultural Products; Beth Andersen, Senior Vice President, Managing Partner, Charleston Orwig, Inc.; and Vernon Benes, Director of Business Development, Beck Ag, Inc.

Special thanks to all of our Trends In Agriculture/Regional Best of NAMA Judging/Rural Lifestyle Resource Center Sponsors as well as our ABEF Sports Night sponsors!

Ag Speakers Network
AgriMarketing Magazine
Associations, Inc.
Beck Ag, Inc.
Blasdel Cleaver Schwalbe Communications
Boelte-Hall
Broadhead + Co.
Cattle Mail, USA
Cattlemen’s Beef Board
CHS, Inc.
Colle+McVoy
Country Living Association
DF Bryant & Company
DTN/The Progress Farmer
Farm Progress Companies
Fastline Publications
High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal
Hoard’s Dairyman Magazine
Hurst & Associates
John Deere
Living the Country Life
Martin Williams
McCormick Company
MoKan NAMA
National Cotton Council of America
Ogden Publications
Osborn & Barr Communications
Paulsen AgriBranding
Quarry Integrated Communications
Rhea & Kaiser Marketing Communications
Truffle Media Networks
ZimmComm New Media, LLC

ABEF Sports Night Sponsors:
Blasdel Cleaver Schwalbe Communications
CMA Consulting
Colle+McVoy
FMC Agricultural Products
High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal
J.L. Farmakis
John Deere
KFRM Radio, The Voice of the Plains
LEE Agri-MEDIA
National Pork Board
Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl., Inc.
Rhea + Kaiser Marketing Communications

Check out the highlights from Trends In Agriculture at https://www.namablog.org/index.php?paged=2.