I’m a graduate of the University of Florida and “How ’bout them Gators?”
The Gator NAMA chapter is the winner of the National Student Marketing Competition.
Cindy’s with them now to take more pictures and get an interview. They will all receive “I’ve Been Blogged by AgWired” t-shirts.
We’ve mentioned the Rock and Roll Buffalo on AgWired.com before… but, Chuck ran into Melissa Daugherty with MachineryLink here at the 2008 NAMA “Leading the Charge” Agri-marketing Conference and she told us more about the tricked out combine featured in the company’s Smarter Harvest Tour. Machinery Link wrapped their own John Deere 9770 with a special buffalo wrap and are displaying the machine at trade shows across the country.
I spoke with Melissa about the unique decor and about what MachineryLink is hoping to accomplish with the buffalo on wheels. You can listen to my interview with Melissa here:
nama08-melissa-daugherty.mp3Be sure to check out the video of the Smarter Harvest Tour on Youtube:
Crazy faces for Crazy Wings. Student competitors from Iowa State University are in the spotlight before NAMA judges as we speak, or shall I say as I type, presenting what they hope is a winning pitch for Crazy Wings, a pork version of the chicken drumstick.
I spoke with the Iowa State Marketing Team Director Josie Rudolphi (pictured second from left) just before the students headed into their final pitch and asked them about their product and what it took to get this far into the NAMA competition. You can listen to my interview with Josie here.
nama08-josie-rudolphi.mp3
A 32-year veteran of Monsanto was honored with the NAMA Marketer of the Year award on Thursday in Kansas City.
Dave Rhylander was presented with the award, sponsored by AgriMarketing Magazine, for being “a visionary leader and highly innovative marketer not only within the ranks of his own company but also throughout the agribusiness industry.” He currently serves as Monsanto’s Marketing Lead for Delta & Pine Land.
Because of Dave Rhylanders strong support and vision, Monsanto is a pioneer and leader in the use of Word of Mouth Marketing strategies throughout the agricultural marketplace. He deserves to be recognized as NAMAs Marketer of the Year because of the credible, grower-friendly, high-impact and measurable return on investment these WOMM strategies have generated for producer participants as well as Monsantos business.
Congratulations, Dave!
Congratulations from AgWired to the CEO of the National Corn Growers Association, who received the Agribusiness Leader of the Year award at the National Agri-Marketing Association conference in Kansas City on Thursday.
Rick Tolman has been in charge of NCGA for almost eight years, during a time of dramatic changes, new challenges and the highest prices in history for corn growers. He told me that he was fortunate to be able to lead the industry as it began to benefit from some of the decisions that were made more than a decade ago.
Listen to a short interview with Rick here.
nama-08-tolman-edit.mp3
I want to thank Denny Eilers for helping me out with Best of NAMA photos.
To start with we have the Best of Show for the Advertising category. The winner is:
Client: New Holland North America, Agency: Colle+McVoy
The message: New Holland is the innovative brand of the future.
Next is Best of Show – Public Relations. The winner is:
Client: Dow AgroSciences, Agency: Fleishman-Hillard
The message: To build the market for Dow AgroSciences’ Omega-9 Oils, made from their specially-bred Nexera canola and sunflower, in light of the data that trans fats have been related to coronary events and the cause of several health issues every year.
Next is Best of Show – Specialty. The winner is:
Client: Merial Limited, Agency: Bader Rutter
The message: RECOMBITEK Equine Influenza Vaccine is proven to protect horses against influenza while significantly reducing viral shedding.
There you have it – The Best of the Best!
Hello AgWired fans. It’s Day 3 of the NAMA Convention and I know I’m a little behind on posting but we’ll get caught up. Let’s just say things have been busy.
Right now the Thursday lunch is just getting started. Our booth is next to the Student Mentor Lunch area so we’ve got a mix going through line here. Can you guess which is which (student vs. professional)?
This afternoon we’ve got breakout sessions and a number of interviews and stories that will be getting published. Hang in there.
ZimmComm’s contest to win an iPod Touch seems to be attracting a steady crowd of contest winner hopefuls. But, that’s just ONE of the perks of stopping by the ZimmComm New Media display here at the 2008 NAMA “Leading the Charge” Agri-marketing conference. Visitors can also get online and search AgWired.com to see if they have been blogged by the ZimmComm crew. If you find your name, you get an AgWired.com “I’ve Been Blogged” T-shirt. Now, who wouldn’t want one of those?
Speaking of rock. We were speaking of rock weren’t we?
Colle + McVoy held the 6th Annual Agri-Rock Fest this evening. Here’s some of the band. There were a lot of body piercings and tattoos and specialty rock legend beverages.
It’s now getting too late even for an agriblogger so you’ll have to check the photo album for some new ones and wait for more NAMA excitement in the morning.
Well the ZimmComm Booth is ready for action here at the NAMA Connection Point. Laura took a picture of Cindy and me.
You need to come on by to get your “I’ve Been Blogged” t-shirt and enter our iPod touch contest.
While there we can answer all your new media questions.
Right now the Best of NAMA Awards ceremony is finishing up and I’ll have more on the results from that by tomorrow. We’ll be heading out to dinner after the show this evening.
