Category Archives: Public Relations

NAMA’s Best

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Best of NAMA AdvertisingThanks to Denny Eilers for providing me with photos of our Best of NAMA award winners for each category.

First up is Best of Show, Advertising
(Left to Right)
Tom Bigelow, Bigelow Advertising
Rick Radermacher, Bigelow Advertising
Chris Lund, AGCO Application Equipment

Best of NAMA Public RelationsThe next ones are Best of Show, Public Relations
(Left to Right)
Paul Durham, Martin/Williams
Kim Dawson, Syngenta
Kerry Henderson, Gibbs & Soell

Best of NAMA SpecialtyAnd then we have Best of Show, Specialty
(Left to Right)
Richard Williams, Archer>Malmo
James Ward, Archer>Malmo
Mike Butler, Archer>Malmo

Congratulations to all winners and finalists!

NAMA Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by:
Novus and Successful Farming.

Public Relations Grant Available

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Seed To SucceedHello non-profits. Here’s a chance to obtain a grant for public relations services. The folks at Harvest PR & Marketing want to help you out. If chosen, they would start working for you in June.

At Harvest PR & Marketing, Inc., we believe big ideas can sprout from the smallest and unlikeliest of places. And, with a little nurturing, those ideas can grow and thrive.

We are seeking an opportunity to help one nonprofit thrive in 2009 — with the help of our first PR grant offering, Seed to Succeed.

We will donate up to $20,000 in services to promote one worthy not-for-profit organization or cause that serves to better agriculture — its reputation, its products, its future, the communities and families it supports from one generation to the next.

Please spread the word if you, or someone you know, could benefit from our own special currency of seed money. Interested parties can find more information at www.Harvest-PR.com. Qualified candidates are encouraged to submit a proposal by May 15 to be considered for this PR grant.

Three Lessons for Renewables Communicators

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Communicating Renewables SummitFrom “Darling to Devil” in the blink of an eye – that’s what happened to the biofuels industry in the past year or so – but better communications on the part of the industry could have helped with the damage control and could still help repair some of the damage done. What’s more, the damage done to biofuels could also happen to other alternative energy products like wind, solar, geothermal, and hydrogen unless communicators implement three important lessons learned from the attack on biofuels. They will be presented by experts in the field at the upcoming Communicating Renewables Summit, April 21-23, 2009 in Minneapolis, MN.

1. Learn to create key messages that resonate with consumers – Suzanne Shelton, President and CEO of The Shelton Group,
 will tell you “What consumers really think about green.”

2. Unify with “one voice, one message” – Matt Williams, partner in The Martin Agency
, will discuss how to ‘green’ your brand from the core to create sustainability efforts that build your brand and differentiate you from your competition.

3. Prepare an Issue Management Plan in advance of attacks – “Crisis Communications vs. Issues Management” will be presented by Eileen Wixted, principal of Wixted, Pope, Nora and Thompson (WPNT).

Become a communications victor, not communications victim at the Communicating Renewables Summit. Register online by March 13th and receive $150 off the early-bird registration rate.

Communicating Renewables on YouTube

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Communicating Renewables SummitWe told you in last week’s ZimmCast about the Communicating Renewables Summit coming up in Minneapolis this April. This conference is designed specifically for the challenging task of getting the positive message about renewable energy out to consumers, stakeholders, policy leaders and the media.

Conference organizer Joanna Schroeder with 4RCommunications has just released a new promotional video about the summit – now live on YouTube for your viewing pleasure!

Surviving The Digital Information Transition

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I’ve just got to point you to Steve Rubel, Micro Persuasions, once again. He works for Edelman Digital and one of his fellow digerati (Dave Coustan) will be on my breakout session panel at the upcoming NAMA Conference. Steve just did a couple of posts that anyone in communications and marketing ought to read. I’m going to take the liberty of pointing you to a couple of his remarks. I’m also going to include a remark from a recent Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine, post that ought to give you pause as well.

In a post titled, “Five Digital Trends to Watch for 2009:”

The Power of Pull – Where push once ruled, it’s now equally important to create digital content that people discover through search

How hard is this for the traditionalist (public relations and journalism) to understand? Very! The objections include things like, “I can’t control it” and “The numbers are small.”

In a post titled “The Newspaper Reporter of the Future is Here Today,” Steve points to the work of Peter Abraham, who is covering the New York Yankees for a local newspaper. Abraham is blogging, including live with CoveritLive, podcasting, posting pictures. Here’s what Steve says about it:

Now imagine for a moment that Abraham wasn’t a Yankees beat writer but instead covering your company or industry for the business section. Or imagine she is the newspaper’s food columnist. This multi-platform method of engaging is right for all of them. If every reporter did this on staff they can build not only a more engaged audience, but also redefine local media since it’s all potentially global.

For PR professionals, this is a boon. More content creates more opportunities for us to tell our stories and to also engage journalists using these same channels. If we’re not there as individuals and companies then we won’t be top of mind.

What Abraham is doing represents not only the future of journalism but also what PR professionals themselves need to do to build connections in the years ahead.

Now, keeping in mind what Steve says above, read this comment from a recent post by Jeff Jarvis. His post is titled, “TV’s Next,” in which he writes about the demise of newspapers and explains why he believes broadcasting is next.

It’s a failure of distribution as a business model. Distribution is a scarcity business: ‘I control the tower/press/wire and you don’t and that’s what makes my business.’ Not long ago, they said that owning these channels was tantamount to owning a mint. No more. The same was said of content. But it’s relationships (read: links) that create value today.

The local TV and radio business, once a privilege to be part of, is next to fall. Timber.

How is your company or media outlet making sure you survive the digital information transition? Do you agree with Steve and Jeff or disagree? Do you still think you can control your customers or subscribers and force them into your “domain?”

New Agency Forms in KC

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Carol Anderson, managing partner and owner of Anderson Fallon Public Relations, and Mark Perrin, president, JLM1926 Holdings, Inc., today announced the creation of Mariposa Partners, Inc., a full-service public relations agency that will provide a full complement of public relations services to help clients communicate in today’s quickly changing business landscape.

The firm, which will operate as an independent subsidiary of JLM1926 Holdings, is located in the Corporate Woods office park in Overland Park, Kan. The agency will continue to service Anderson Fallon’s existing client portfolio. In addition, it will serve as a public relations partner to other JLM1926 agency holdings including McCormick Company, McCormick Global (Canada), The Hondo Group and UNISON Resource Company.

“We believe by combining the expertise, integrity and strategic capabilities of Anderson Fallon with the scope and reach of JLM1926 Holdings, we can deliver meaningful public relations counsel to clients that help them capitalize on their market positions in this time of growth for the agricultural industry and time of challenge in many other industries,” says Perrin.

Mariposa Partners, Inc., will be led by Anderson; Becky Johnson will serve as the new firm’s manager of client services; PR counselors Julie Balmer, Sylvia Bachmann, David Chitwood and Beth Buchanan also will be joining the group.

Blog It On PR Newswire

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PRNewswire Blog ThisI’m not sure how long they’ve been doing this but I just noticed that when I opened a PR Newswire release it’s got a little link at the top that says, “Blog It.” It seems to only let you post to a Blogger or WordPress.com account though. I tried posting it to ZimmComm.biz but no go.

At least they’re thinking in the right direction. Adding a function that would allow you to post to a blog on your own domain/host would be a nice next step.

I guess bloggers can be journalists after all. Who would have thought?

There’s a New Marketing Firm in Town

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Hondo Ribbon CuttingThe Hondo Group, a marketing communications company, is moving to new ground. The Fort Worth-based firm has announced the grand opening of a new location in Darlington, WI. The Wisconsin office will serve as the company’s hub for Midwest operations. Pictured (l-r) are Patricia Lawson, account supervisor at The Hondo Group; Kim Jones, vice president of The Hondo Group; Lynn Balinas, president of The Hondo Group; Mayor David Breunig, City of Darlington and Suzi Osterday, City of Darlington.

“As our client base expands, so must our operations,” said Kim Jones, vice president of The Hondo Group. “We are pleased to now have a location in Darlington that will focus on our ever-expanding list of agriculture and dairy clients.”

As The Hondo Group continues to expand, the company will provide clients with business solutions such as strategic branding processes and procedures, new products and new technologies. The company has made investments in several additional staff members to ensure that exceptional customer service and results continue.

The Hondo Group has offered marketing services both on the national and international level. The firm focuses on agribusiness, real estate, professional services and western lifestyle.

PR Open Mic For You PR Practitioners and Students

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PROpenMicSince a lot of you AgWired fans are involved in public relations I thought you’d want to know about PROpenMic. It’s a social networking site started by Robert French, one of the people who inspired me to move forward in this whole new media world.

He used Ning to create the site. Ning? What’s Ning you may ask. Ning is the only online service where you can create, customize, and share your own Social Network for free in seconds. It’s the software equivalent of Home Depot. Unlike other services that offer a one-size-fits-all offering, your social network on Ning runs on a programmable platform.”

Now that sounds interesting. But let’s get back to PROpenMic.

PROpenMic? A metaphor. Step up and speak your mind. Our goal is to be the social network for PR students and faculty worldwide. We have common interests, goals and certainly can learn from one another. We welcome PR pros, too. Hey, you can find your next great intern or new hire right here. Also, faculty always love to interact with practitioners.

PROpenMic isn’t a podcasting network, although we’d love to see those here, too. Think of it as a digital place to step up to the microphone and share your views. Please tell your friends. Once you sign up, there is an easy “Invite More” link in the top right hand corner of the page.

I know I don’t have very many network connections online (yeah, right) but I did create a page of my own on the new PR network.

Osborn & Barr to Promote Becker Underwood Bio-agronomic Development

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Osborn & BarrOsborn & Barr is now the marketing firm of choice for Becker Underwood. The global leader in bio-agronomic development has named Osborn & Barr its agency of record.


“When we initiated the search for a new agency of record, it was very important to select an agency with a winning track record of effective brand management and marketing communications within the agricultural market,” said Paul Holliday, Becker Underwood, Business Unit Head – Inoculants. “After a thorough search and analysis, we selected Osborn & Barr because of the agency’s in-depth knowledge and understanding of the agricultural market and their tremendous success in representing some of the most widely recognized brands in the industry.”

Becker UnderwoodOsborn & Barr’s expertise will assist in increasing awareness of the innovative solutions Becker Underwood’s products offer the agriculture market. “Becker Underwood’s objective is to grow market share and build brand awareness among growers and retailers in both the United
States and Canada,” said Steve Barr, chief executive officer of Osborn & Barr. “Osborn & Barr will partner with Becker Underwood to develop and implement initiatives that fulfill the company’s goals.”

Becker Underwood, headquartered in Ames, Iowa, employs approximately 317 employees globally. For more than two decades, the company has provided unique and valuable products for niche markets in 60 countries, including agriculture, turf and landscaping, horticulture, and lawn and garden. Becker Underwood strives to develop new technologies and products through continuous scientific research that naturally improve customers’ end products, whether it’s higher crop yields or a more visually appealing golf course.

Osborn & Barr Boosts Man-Power in Kansas City

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Osborn & BarrOsborn & Barr Communications is strengthening its man-power in Kansas City. The office has introduced new personnel to both its account service and financial teams.

The Kansas City office of Osborn & Barr Communications (O&B) has significantly augmented its creative, account service and financial teams with the addition of Jason Silvers, Debbie Davids and Kelly Midkiff.

“The addition of Jason, Debbie and Kelly has really expanded the skill base and operational turnaround capabilities of Osborn & Barr,” says Boo Larsen, managing director of the Kansas City office. “The breadth of their experience in multiple markets and industries will be a tremendous asset to our clients, and their addition to the office provides us even more immediate response capabilities that are so important in today’s fast-moving business marketplace.”

Jason Silvers was promoted to senior art director less than six months after joining O&B as an art director. At O&B, he designs collateral and brand identity pieces for such clients as John Deere C&CE, Intervet Inc. and Belton, Mo.-based Specialty Fertilizer Products.

Debbie Davids also joined O&B after working for Bernstein-Rein. As an account executive, Davids specializes in serving as the liaison between clients and the agency to ensure all creative operations run smoothly.

After a five-year absence, Kelly Midkiff returned to O&B as office services manager and financial assistant. Midkiff was office services manager for the agency from 2001 to 2002.

I’ll Be Your Geek Marketer

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Many AgWired fans know I recommend Micro Persuasion written by Steve Rubel. The man has more insight into how new media can be used as corporate marketing tools than anyone else I’ve found. I have tried diligently to apply his ideas to the agricultural marketing world. He also writes a column for Advertising Age and his latest one is right on the money in my opinion.

He writes about a new career path that’s emerging on the advertising/PR agency and client sides called the Geek Marketer. “My thesis is this: it’s very difficult for anyone in marketing to keep up with all the twists the digital space because technology changes so darn fast. It’s like chasing a cheetah. Most marketers – be they clients or agency side – are heads-down running their business. Therefore, companies are creating a new role. They’re hiring people who act as translators between the ultra geeks and the marketers, if you will, and shepherd the development of pilot programs.”

He says about people like us, “They are marketers by trade, yet they also have a hard-core interest in technology and social anthropology. As curious individuals, they are constantly studying how digital advances are changing our culture and media. Armed with these insights, they regularly apply them in a marketing context by working closely with brand teams to codify new best practices.”

So, do you have a Geek Marketer on your staff? Are you willing to let that person try some new marketing programs that use technology you’re not familiar with or that you don’t use yourself? If Geek Marketer is not on your corporate flow chart then keep the Godfather of ag blogging in mind.

New Leadership at Bader Rutter

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Nesh Malinovic Vice President, New Media Bader Rutter & Associates is bringing a new Vice President on board.

Nesh Malinovic has been named Vice President, Media Director at Bader Rutter & Associates.
Malinovic comes to the agency from Kelly, Scott & Madison in Chicago where he was an associate media director.
Originally from London, England, Malinovic has nearly 20 years of strategic media experience, working for multiple agencies, including Oglivy & Mather, Carat UK and The Media Shop. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of London.
Bader Rutter & Associates is an integrated marketing services agency headquartered in Milwaukee, with additional offices in Chicago and Lincoln, Neb.

Top Marketers in Equipment Industry Recognized

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The Association of Equipment Manufacturers has named the winners of its “Measures of Success” marketing awards program. Companies from across the U.S. and Canada comprise the list of winners. AEM’s Publications in Construction and Agriculture issued the awards which recognize excellence in marketing communications for the off-road equipment industry. The annual awards are also meant to stress the significant role marketing communications plays in a company’s business success.

“A special award of excellence goes to the winning entry receiving the highest score overall from the judges. The members of PICA this year voted to have this “platinum” award dedicated to publishing executive John Weatherhead of Associated Construction Publications in recognition of his longtime stewardship of the PICA group. Winning this award was Caterpillar Inc. of Peoria, Illinois with its agency Rhea & Kaiser Communications of Naperville, Illinois for their entry in the product literature category (over $50 million in sales division).

The PICA “Measures of Success” awards program is open to off-road equipment manufacturers and industry service providers. Award categories include magazine ads, product literature, direct mail and press kits, broken out by sales divisions (over/under $50 million). Entries are judged by a panel of business-to-business agencies, industrial marketers, university marketing communications professors and PICA publishers. Press kits are evaluated by PICA industry editors. Judges score the entries independently, and the AEM statistical department tabulates the scores. The number of awards given in each category and division is determined by the judges based on entries received.”

A complete list of winners from the 12 categories can be found on AEM’s Website.

NIAA Symposium Release

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National Institute For Animal AgricultureThe National Institute For Animal Agriculture has just sent out its final virtual news room release from its annual meeting out in California. Just like earlier this week they’re using AgNewsWire to produce and distribute the release.

The National Institute for Animal Agriculture annual meeting in Sacramento this week featured a symposium titled “Impacts of Animal Production Safety Practices on the Food Supply.”

Included in this release are links to audio interviews, photos and power point files from presenters at the symposium. All audio interviews are 96 kpbs mp3 files and can be downloaded from the link. If you would prefer to have the file emailed directly to you, please contact us.

Download Full Release Here

Webinars on Webinars & Blogging

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eMarketerIf you’re not a regular reader of eMarketer I highly recommend it. Theirs is one of the only daily e-newsletters I subscribe to and actually read. They also send out an eMarketer FYI on timely subjects. The latest is on a GoToMeeting webinar on the Top Ten Webinar Best Practices. I’ve had a number of clients asking about webinars lately and thought you might want to check this out if you’re thinking about conducting one for your company or client.

Webinars are an increasingly important channel for sharing a wide variety of useful content and broadening the reach of any size organization. Learn how leading innovators have mastered the key aspects of Webinar planning, delivery and analysis to boost revenue, reduce costs and drive productivity in their organizations.

This webinar will take place on April 11 at 10am-pdt or 1pm-edt. The speakers will be Michael Osterman, Founder, Osterman Research and Eric Choi, Product Marketing Manager, Citrix Online. Here’s where you register.

PR NewswireAnother webinar you might want to check out is on blogging and being offered by PR Newswire. It’s called “Blogging: Get in? Get out? or Get out of the way?” You can probably guess what my answer is.

PR Newswire has brought together a panel of online veterans to discuss blogging as it pertains to the PR professional and the news reporter. Learn how blogging has changed journalism, how it has opened new lines of communication outside the traditional press and how PR professionals should (or shouldn’t) react to the trend.

This webinar takes place on April 12 at 2pm-edt. Here’s where you register.

NIAA Distributing Virtual Newsroom via AgNewsWire

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National Institute For Animal AgricultureThe National Institute For Animal Agriculture is offering a virtual news room for reporters who can’t attend their annual meeting taking place in Sacramento. This isn’t the first time the organization has used this mechanism and it’s because they’ve received such positive feedback from the first time they tried it. The focus of the meeting on Monday was animal agriculture and biofuels production. NIAA used our AgNewsWire service to produce and distribute the document which you can find a link to below. It contains links to interviews that Cindy did with the presenters as well as their documents and images.

Included in this release are links to audio interviews, photos and presentations in document or power point files from the main presenters at the annual meeting on Monday. All audio interviews are 96 kpbs mp3 files and can be downloaded from the link. If you would prefer to have the file emailed directly to you, please contact us.

Dave Miller with the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation introduced the General Session with some statistics and general information about biofuels and animal agriculture, the main point of which can be garnered from his Power Point presentation.
NIAA-07-Gen-Session.ppt.

Full Release

Public Relations Guidelines

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TOCAWhile browsing the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association website this morning I came across their PR/News Release Guidelines. This is worth a read for all you public relations professionals who I’m sure already know this. It’s always nice to have a reminder though. I wish more ag comm groups would do this.

Here’s some key points they make for marketers:

1. The news releases I distribute will be newsworthy. There’s a reason why this is number 1 on the list. Sending out news releases without a real news angle is kind of like saying the sky’s falling. Do it enough an editors won’t even look at your news releases anymore.

4. I will not call editors to confirm that a release has been received. I will also not call editors to ask when or if a news release will be published. They say this is the number one complaint of editors and I fully understand why. I may be in the news release distribution business but I’m also an editor and we just don’t have time for this. Sometimes there’s just no way to answer the second part of this question so you’ve at best wasted my time. When I get these calls I often feel like I’m being put on the spot and it’s very uncomfortable and not likely to put me in a “favorable” mood regarding the release.

5. I will not call editors to ask for clips of my published news release. This is because the editor often can’t and doesn’t have an easy way to do this and definitely doesn’t have time for it.

With our AgNewsWire service we try to keep our database up to date so we’re sending to current email contacts at all the various broadcast, print and web outlets. We don’t and won’t call on editors to see if they got the release. We can tell how many open the email but we won’t report who. We often get asked how many “used” a release and there’s just no way for us to know that. I realize how important metrics are even in public relations but I think you hurt your public relations efforts if you push too hard for this data. Just keep in mind that editors can’t do your story if you don’t send it to them! One of the best things you can do is participate in the various agricultural communicator association meetings to develop good relationships with editors.

Some Ag Comm Annual Meetings

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  • Agricultural Relations Council: A Consumer-Driven Marketplace A look at the influences consumers have on the food and fiber industries – March 29-31, 2007.
  • North American Agricultural Journalists: The annual NAAJ meeting will be April 15-17 in Washington, D.C. The conference hotel will be the Holiday Inn-Capital. Rooms are $223/night. We have a small block reserved, so budget now. The number to call for reservations is 202-479-4000. Identify yourself as being with NAAJ, North American Agricultural Journalists. You must make reservations by March 15.
  • The Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association: Next Annual Meeting: May 1-May 3, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Savanna, GA.

Kenna Rathai Helping Out AAEA

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Kenna RathaiIf you’ve wondered what Kenna Rathai is up to then wonder no more. To start with she jumped into the business world last fall when she launched Kenna B. Rathai Communications. She does independent public relations and freelance writing assignments. And now she’s got a new gig helping out the American Agricultural Editors Association (AAEA) as associate director on a part time basis. Kenna will assist Den Gardner, AAEA executive director, in managing the day to day activities of AAEA. Her responsibilities will include editing The ByLine and managing Ag Media Summit exhibit booth logistics and other duties.