Osborn & Barr Adds 21

Chuck Zimmerman

You know we like to post pictures here but sorry Osborn & Barr. 21 new employees?! Wow. Guess business is growing. If you’ve got photos of all of them we’ll link to your online photo album. LOL. O&B, a leading marketing and communications firm serving agricultural and rural markets, announces the addition of 21 new employees to assist with growing …

Agencies

Outsourcing Social Media

Chuck Zimmerman

Hopefully the title grabbed some attention. I’ve been meaning to write a post about this for a while. But after seeing some examples this week, both good and bad, I thought it was time. So let’s get started. There is nothing wrong with outsourcing the management of your social media channels. I’m speaking directly to agribusinesses and farm groups. I’ve …

Advertising, Agencies, Social Networking

AdFarm Adds

Chuck Zimmerman

AdFarm has expanded their public relations staff with the hiring of two new employees and an internal promotion. Congratulations guys. Dan Kirkpatrick has been hired as a senior public relations strategist and business development lead, with a special focus in Iowa. A marketing practitioner with 25 years experience, Kirkpatrick’s industry expertise ranges from production agriculture to the rural lifestyle market …

Agencies

JoAnn Alumbaugh Joins McCormick Company

Chuck Zimmerman

Congratulations to JoAnn Alumbaugh on her new job with McCormick Company! JoAnn has been working for Farms.com and has been a solid supporter of professional organizations like the American Agricultural Editors Association and International Federation of Agricultural Journalists. I hope she knows that the fine print in her membership said she had to stay involved “for life” even if she …

Agencies, Media

Charleston|Orwig Goes Blue For Global Genes Project

Chuck Zimmerman

I’ve heard of going green but going blue is good too. That’s what the staff at Charleston|Orwig, Inc. is doing by wearing blue jeans each day during September. They’re doing it “not for comfort, but for hope.” Wearing jeans serves as a reminder to vote for the Global Genes Project in the online Pepsi Refresh Program. “We are partnering with …

Agencies

There Is Truth In Food

Chuck Zimmerman

When it comes to food we all need a little bit of truth. Well, maybe a lot of truth. So TruthInFood.com sounds like a good idea. To learn more about this intriguing project I spoke with Mike Smith, Food Chain Communications. Mike and I had a great conversation about understanding why people from both production agriculture and the urban consuming …

Agencies, Audio, Food, ZimmCast

Froman Joins R+K

Melissa Sandfort

Rhea + Kaiser has named John Froman management supervisor. Froman leads the development and stewardship of marketing communications plans for the Bayer CropScience corn and soybean herbicide brands. Prior to joining R+K, Froman served as digital and B2B account supervisor at Wunderman, working on the British Petroleum account. Previously, he worked in account management and leadership roles with Fathom Communications, …

Agencies

Diane Martin Is President/CEO Rhea + Kaiser

Chuck Zimmerman

Rhea + Kaiser Marketing Communications has announced major changes in the leadership of the agency starting at the top. For the first time since the agency’s founding 32 years ago, a new leader is at the helm of Rhea + Kaiser. Diane Martin, a 24-year veteran of R+K, has been named president and chief executive officer. She succeeds agency co-founder …

Agencies

AgChat Foundation Receives Seed To Succeed Grant

Chuck Zimmerman

Harvest PR & Marketing has just announced the recipient of its second annual Seed To Succeed nonprofit PR Grant. It’s the AgChat Foundation! The grant is valued at $20,000. Harvest PR’s grant will help the start-up nonprofit spread its “agvocacy” message and share news of its core program areas, including Agvocacy Training and Technology Scholarships. “The AgChat mission really resonated …

Ag Groups, Agencies, Public Relations

R+K Q+A Update

Chuck Zimmerman

The NAMA ABEF was the big winner in this year’s R+K Q+A promotion. This is the second year R+K sponsored its text message promotion, coined “R+K Q+A,” during the annual NAMA conference, held this year April 20–23 in Kansas City. Working in partnership with NAMA leadership and Commodity Update, R+K executed the promotion, which consisted of a series of questions …

Agencies, NAMA