Happy Thanksgiving

Chuck Zimmerman

Happy Thanksgiving From ZimmComm New MediaI’m just guessing that most of you are either on vacation or thinking so much about being on vacation that you might as well be on vacation.

I’m kind of in that mood myself. So . . .

Have a Happy Thanksgiving from ZimmComm New Media.

And just in case you want to know more, here’s what Wikipedia says about it:

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it’s a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. Thanksgiving is a North American holiday with the dates and whereabouts of the first Thanksgiving celebration a topic of modest contention. It has generally become a national secular holiday with religious origins. Though the earliest attested Thanksgiving celebration was on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida[1][2], the traditional “first Thanksgiving” is venerated as having occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621.

Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members.

Uncategorized

Texting Turkey

Chuck Zimmerman

Butterball TextWhat turkey week would be complete without a turkey post? Cindy and I watched the History Channel’s Modern Marvels – Turkey and since Butterball was mentioned so prominently I visited them this morning.

You can find some recipes for turkey for dinner here. If you’ve got questions you can call their Turkey Talk-Line – 1-800-Butterball.

Another option is to have turkey cooking information texted to you phone. I’m signed as you can see in the picture. So here’s what I’ll be getting:

Once you’ve signed up, you will receive text messages from November 3 to December 31, 2008.* Each message will include:

* Tips on how to prep and cook a turkey.
* Reminders on when to buy and start thawing your turkey.
* Shopping list alerts for new recipes.
* Features to instantly connect to the Butterball Experts
o Click to call 1-800-BUTTERBALL∗ directly from within the text message to speak with an expert.
o Or, click through to the mobile site to quickly get more information.

Food

Drive Green Widget

Chuck Zimmerman

We haven’t even kicked off the first event in the John Deere Drive Green Utility Tractor Show and I’m already so excited I can hardly wait. It all starts next week in Middleburg, FL. I’m also very proud of our web guru, Robert, who built the blog for this project. We’re trying to incorporate a number of social media mechanisms into it and the latest is the Show Widget. Perhaps you’ll want to use it, perhaps not, but here it is anyway.

So, you know where I’ll be next week. BTW. I think it’s cool that the first two video clips I uploaded to the Show’s YouTube account have already been viewed over 150 times and we’re just getting started!

John Deere

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The four finalists for the 2008 Ag-Chem Operator of the Year program have been chosen. All will attend the 2008 Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) Conference and Expo, Dec. 2-4 in Austin, Texas, where the grand prize winner will drive away on a new Harley Davidson motorcycle.
  • King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Alpharma Inc. have signed a definitive merger agreement under which King will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock of Alpharma for $37.00 per share in cash for a total equity value of approximately $1.6 billion.
  • AdFarm has hired Angie Skochdopole, veteran ag media specialist, as director, media. She comes to AdFarm from her previous role as VP, media services for Quarry Communications, where she worked on BASF US and BASF Canada, and Novartis Animal Health.
  • CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has announced that its Board of Directors has elected Bert A. Frost to be vice president, Sales and Market Development, effective Jan. 1, 2009.
Zimfo Bytes

Some Social Media Wisdom

Chuck Zimmerman

Since most of what I’ve been asked to speak about or consult on lately has been social media/networking I have to share this. To start with, the inspiration for this post comes from my latest follower on Twitter, David Alston. So, by being on Twitter and looking at what a follower is doing I came across his blog, tweetpr, and a post titled, “Debunking the Social Media Barriers.” You need to read this if you’re in agricultural marketing.

I’d love to copy the whole thing but picked out a few choice parts for you:

  • Search engines love the fresh content social media serves up and as a result social media posts, tweets, pics, videos all can end up in key shelf space on the first page of a Google search. And what most of you can agree on is that almost all stakeholders use search as one of the primary ways to find and research products they want to buy. So, while a large part of your audience may not be participating in social media it only takes a small but influencial portion of it to comment on your brand in social media and seriously impact your brand’s search results. If you aren’t part of those conversations and are not building relationships with those that are talking about your brand in social media then you are rolling the dice on your search results.
  • I hate to be the one to break the bad news but you never did control the message.
  • Social media is about building relationships, plain and simple, be it partners, influencers, fans, advocates, future customers, or current buying customers. It’s not about lots of eyeballs it’s about the right set of eyeballs. As such the numbers are smaller, as they should be, because they are in the narrow part of the funnel and closer to the customer. Wouldn’t you rather be talking about metrics that are easier to tie to actual sales?


David is right on the money with his thoughts on the corporate use of social media. And as he points out in his post, there are a growing number of companies (like ZimmComm New Media) that can help you navigate this bold new world.

Uncategorized

Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation Announced

Chuck Zimmerman

Association of Equipment ManufacturersThe Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF) has been announced as a result of cooperation between the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

The foundation is a manufacturer-led effort to advance global adoption of ISOBUS and electronics standards, which provide a means for greater electronic compatibility between equipment from different manufacturers. The initial focus is data communications between tractors and implements.

An industry wide, global approach for integration of complex electronic systems and software will improve machine functionality and efficiencies, for the benefit of agricultural equipment customers. Projects to achieve that integration can be accomplished faster and more efficiently because of AEM and VDMA funding and staffing of AEF.

Although there is no website for the new AEF you can find North American information on the AEM website.

AEM, Ag Groups

AdFarm Hires Angie Skochdopole

Chuck Zimmerman

AdFarmCongratulations to Angie Skochdopole for her new gig.

AdFarm has hired Angie Skochdopole, veteran ag media specialist, as Director, Media. She comes to AdFarm from her previous role as VP Media Services for Quarry Communications, where she worked on BASF US and BASF Canada, and Novartis Animal Health.  

Skochdopole also brings a wealth of additional agricultural media experience, including past experience with Vance Publishing, TBWA-Chiat Day, Rumrill-Hoyt/Saatchi & Saatchi and AGCO Corporation. Bob Wilhelm, AdFarm Managing Director, U.S., says her strong credentials in crop protection, fertilizers, biotech and farm equipment will be great assets to the present and growing roster of AdFarm clients.

Agencies

Field Assignment: Support Large Animal Vets

Chuck Zimmerman

Field AssignmentHere’s a call to help out with the vet shortage via Charleston|Orwig. All you have to do is post a comment on the latest post on Field Assignment.

We’ve blogged about the large animal vet shortage before. But now we really want to ramp up the conversation in an impactful way. In fact, we’re so eager to start a dialogue, we intend to donate $5 to a great, vet-related cause for every non-frivolous comment anyone adds to this blog about the crisis.

Tell us what you think is causing the shortage. We’ll donate $5.

Suggest ways in which you think it can be solved. We’ll donate $5.

Share a link to a news story or other online discussion about the shortage. We’ll donate $5.

Advance the conversation by responding to someone else’s comment. We’ll donate $5.

Go ahead. I’m sure Lyle will appreciate it. The money they donate will support the University of Wisconsin’s Dairy Teaching Herd Endowment.

Agencies, Education, University

Aerial Precision Ag

Chuck Zimmerman

Indiana Unmanned Aircraft Systems PlaneWhen I visited the Indiana Unmanned Aircraft Systems website for a post I did today on Precision Pays I was pleased to see that they’re using WordPress.com! The story though is that they just had a successful test flight. This is a picture of one of their units.

Indiana Unmanned Aircraft Systems (IUAS), a Muncie, Indiana based aerospace company and manufacturer of small unmanned aircraft systems, announced the first successful test flight of its Im VII Air Vehicle Two (Im VII AV-2) took place on Saturday, November 8.

Im VII AV-2 represents over six years of research and development into small flying wing aircraft that do not require an onboard flight computer to remain stable in the air. The company is the only designer and manufacturer of all-wing aircraft developed specifically for precision agriculture imaging applications. “Our all-wing platforms are world leaders in payload lifting and flight endurance capability as compared to similar-size aircraft of conventional designs,” says Jeff Imel designer of the Im VII and company founder.

The aircraft is integrated to hyper-spectral cameras for use in precision agriculture image capture and analysis. The images are used by growers to determine the health of their crops, insect infestation, storm damage assessment and nitrogen run-off analysis. IUAS will be working with universities, agriculture business, and farmers across the state of Indiana.

Precision Agriculture

EPIC Joins Growth Energy

Chuck Zimmerman

Growth EnergyThe Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (long time ZimmComm client) announced today that it is going to be joining Growth Energy. Actually the board is recommending the transition to its membership but I think it’s safe to say that the plan will be approved. Here’s an excerpt from a statement by EPIC Executive Director, Toni Nuernberg.

I am proud to announce that the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) Board of Directors will be recommending a transition plan to EPIC’s membership to join Growth Energy, a newly formed organization dedicated to the promise of agriculture and growing America’s economy through cleaner, greener energy. The mission of EPIC’s formation— growing ethanol awareness through public relations, marketing and promotions — will continue as a core platform of Growth Energy’s initiatives.

During the next few months, EPIC’s programs and staff will be transitioning into Growth Energy. We are excited to be part of this new organization with a broad vision for not only the success of America’s agriculture and biofuels industry, but will also work to ensure that on a worldwide basis, biofuels are developed in a sustainable manner.

We look forward to working with Growth Energy and wish the best for all of our EPIC friends!

Ag Groups, Energy, Ethanol