Breakout Sessions
How Do Different Generations of Farmers Use Media? (Session 1 of 2)
Thursday, April 19 ~ 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Problem: While the average age of farmers is still middle 50’s, there is an influx of young farmers making their way back to the family farm. Many are college graduates and have new ideas regarding not only farming, but how they want to receive information that is necessary for their operation. Technology adoption – smartphones, ipads, social media, etc. – is on a steep uptick in agriculture and these younger guys are fueling the way. The challenge is how to effectively reach not only farmers in their 40’s and 50’s who may be the primary decision maker, but also the emerging decision makers in their 20’s and 30’s as the media landscape starts to shift. The first step in finding a solution is to understand how media usage/consumption is different among the different age groups.
In this session you will hear some of the latest research on media usage as well as new technology adoption and then see how farmers of different generations are using (or not using) these tools and vehicles.
This session will focus on understanding why marketers need to think differently when talking to today’s farmers. Breakout 2 will focus on the solution – so how to actually go about it.
Moderator: David Parker, Vice President, Instructional Services, Adayana
Panelists: 3 producers that will represent different generations
Consumer Influences on Ag Communications
Thursday, April 19 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Changes in consumer attitudes and our food system have altered the landscape. With foodie culture, food choice, sustainability, local food and social media taking the stage, the strategies, tactics and messages of the agricultural system have evolved. Organizations, marketers and individual farmers and ranchers are constantly looking for the best ways to communicate with credibility and trust.
During this session, you will hear information regarding research and projects from the Center for Food Integrity and a case study from Illinois Farm Families about building and retaining agriculture’s share of voice in the conversation regarding our nation’s food supply.
Charlie Arnot, Center for Food Integrity
Lori Laughlin, Iowa Soybean Association
Creating a Creative Environment: The Awesome Art, Power, and Discipline of Jamming!
Thursday, April 19, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 19, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
“The best way to manage the future. . . Is to create it yourself!”
In the fall of 1969, David Okerlund sat in a smoke-filled faculty lounge in a northern Iowa high school, listening to the unified voice of about ten other teachers telling him that, “You rookie teachers are all alike. After a few years in the trenches. . . You’ll learn. Okerlund, you can’t just teach any and every student how to become a dynamic speaker. Jimmy Urtham is a smart kid, but he’s so shy that about the only person he can carry on a conversation with. . . Is Jimmy Urtham.” (Well, one year later Jimmy Urtham won first place honors in the Iowa High School division of Original Oration.)
Unfortunately, too many managers today express that same attitude about teaching creativity skills to their people. They believe that if it’s not an inherent part of your mental syntax, you’re just going to have to struggle along without it. How wrong they are!
In what seems like a blink of an eye, we have gone from the gentle evolution of change into what some feel is a hurricane of unrelenting change and chaos. Today, the new millennium MANDATES an ability to reinvent oneself at the drop of a hat, embrace thinking out of the box, and to become comfortable. . . Feeling uncomfortable. To some, this can be a daunting task to say the least, but for others, it is a way of thinking and working that brings new life into tired souls. If you prefer the later train of thought, you are going to love this session.
What you will learn
· The awesome art, power, and discipline of jamming
· How to conduct your own jamming sessions
· The 7 different types of creativity
· How to personally nurture your own creative growth
· How to nurture creative growth in your staff
· How to become a “Vision” painter
· The danger of psychosclerosis
· How to understand the linear and intuitive techniques of creativity
· Creating a perpetually creative work environment
David Okerlund
David Okerlund grew up in a rural, Midwestern town of Manchester, Iowa where as a young teenager he saved up money- to go on to college by working on the town's garbage route. Till this day he still says that, "It was the best job I have ever had in my entire career. It taught me more about the value of commitment and endurance than one might ever dare to believe."
From there he went on to Hastings College in Nebraska where he became a nationally ranked speech and forensic speaker. After graduation he became a teacher in Iowa where in his first year he was nominated as the Outstanding Young Speech Educator for the state.
After leaving teaching, David became what he affectionately calls a "road toad warrior." He defines that as a salesperson who can drive over 100,000 miles a year and still love selling.
In the late seventies David moved into management as a special assistant to the college president. Shortly after that he became fund development director for a large heart hospital. And then an administrator for a 350 bed trauma center hospital.
In 1983 David's speaking abilities gained national attention when he finished in the final three of the World Championship of Public Speaking; a contest that includes over 20,000 contestants from over 45 different countries.
In 1984 David was an instructor at Oxford University where he taught speech and debate.
How to Wrangle Market Share From Your Competitors
Thursday, April 19, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
How To Wrangle Market Share From Lazy Competitors. The world's top economists are predicting a dismal 1-2% average growth through 2015. So, the only way to grow your organization is to take market share away from your lazy competitors. Ross can show you how progressive companies are getting 15-25% growth; even when their available market is stagnant or declining.
The Take A Ways:
How to Legally "Spy" on Your Competitors: How do you get more share? You must capitalize on your competitors' weaknesses. Because the Internet and social media publish such vast public information and conversation, Ross will teach you how to legally "spy" on your competitors so you can see what they are doing right or wrong - see what kinds of innovations and best practices they are using that you may not be - and discover what they're customers are responding to. Also, Ross can coach you about your own Internet Reputation Management to make sure you keep the share you've already earned.
How to Keep the Culture From Destroying You: If you ignore cultural changes in technology and buying trends, the public consciousness has the power to destroy you, virtually overnight. "They" will gladly buy goods and services from your competitors. Ross will teach you how to spot new buying habit trends - trends that are hiding in plain sight - before it's too late.
Customer Urgency is Replacing "Service": Broadband connections and sophisticated e-commerce sites have conditioned your clients and customers to believe they can buy anything (and everything) they want "on demand." Urgency and Empathy are more important to them than what we used to consider "service." In fact, if you don't respond at Internet Speed, your customers and clients will consider you lazy, substandard, and undeserving of their business. Ross can coach you how to deliver more urgency and empathy in order to retain current customers...and attract new business.
User-Generated Leadership: It's Your Future: We've all heard that we should use "The Crowd" (crowd sourcing) to help us determine the next direction for our products and services. But which crowd? When do you ask? And, when is it a fatal error to listen to the Internet Herd? Ross will help you navigate this treacherous (yet potentially profitable) terrain - and cite inspiring case studies that will guide you into more profitability.
Contrarian Thinking WINS During a Recovery: While economic turmoil debilitates some companies, it unleashes creativity in others. Uber-savvy businesspeople know the "old school" ways are gone forever - so they have learned to embrace unconventional wisdom. You’ll hear inspiring ideas (and rationale) like, “Discounting is over" "Quality dictates the new economy” “Don’t follow predictions, follow the science” “Social networks can’t just be our chat room. They have to be our knowledge base.” Ross will unveil specific 'contrarian tactics' and show you how these outliers are trailblazing new channels for profiteering.
Ross Shafer
Ross Shafer grew up in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington where he studied business management and played varsity football (linebacker). After college, he took a job as a training manager for a department store (Yard Birds) and was able to save $10,000. He took that money and launched his life as an entrepreneur. His first venture was as the owner/manager of America’s only Stereo and Pet Shop in the small town of Puyallup, Washington (population 5,000 at the time).
Cleaning pet cages wasn’t as appealing as it sounded to Ross, so after 3 years he closed the store and took a job as an advertising manager for the 28 store Squire Shops retail clothing chain in Seattle, Washington. Writing ad copy and concocting campaigns paid the bills, but at night Ross haunted local comedy clubs in search of a career in joke telling. After years of slogging around the comedy circuit, he won the Seattle International Comedy Competition and immediately became an opening act for performers like Crystal Gayle, Eddie Rabbitt, Nel Carter, Neil Sedaka, and Dionne Warwick.
In l985, Ross pitched a TV show idea to the NBC affiliate in Seattle (KING). It was a risky idea to emulate a local Letterman-like comedy talk show. Regardless, ALMOST LIVE was born and for the next 5 seasons Ross hosted the show while he and his team collected 36 Emmys. They won the Esquire Magazine dubious Achievement Award one year for attempting to change the Washington State song to Louie, Louie. During those years Ross also hosted an afternoon drive radio show on the 50,000 watt KJR-AM.
In l988, Ross was wooed by the Fox network to take over The Late Show. The Late Show was a nightly talk show that competed with The Tonight Show and David Letterman. The show lasted a year and Ross next found himself in New York co-hosting Days End on the ABC network. It was here that he sat beside Matt Lauer and Spencer Christian as they interviewed the movers and shakers of New York and the world. Dick Clark told Ross, Always have a back up plan, my boy, TV is terminal and predictably Days End was cancelled. Ross always wondered what happened to Matt Lauer? Ha!
The next stop for Ross was hosting the revised Match Game on the ABC network. Love Me, Love Me Not followed and numerous TV pilot projects.
By this time, Ross was headlining all of the leading night clubs and casinos. He produced a highly acclaimed comedy album about the Clinton administration titled Inside The First Family. He also wrote a comedy cookbook that became a best seller; Cook Like A Stud - 38 recipes men can prepare in the garage with their own tools.
By l994, Ross heard Bill Gates give a speech where he said, Someday you will all be watching television on your telephones. Ross took that message to heart and he made the decision to leave TV and get back to his corporate training roots. Human nature and the human condition were always fascinating to him because that’s what comedians do. They study the laughter and tears business. To date Ross has produced (14) Human Resource training films on Customer Service, Motivation, Leadership, and Peer Pressure. He has authored the business books, Nobody Moved Your Cheese, Customer Empathy, The Customer Shouts Back, and his newly released Are You Relevant? 12 Reasons Smart Organizations Thrive in Any Economy.
Today, Ross is one of the most sought after Keynote speakers and seminar leaders on the subjects of Customer Empathy, Personal Motivation, and Business Relevance. The father of two grown sons, Adam and Ryan, he lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife Leah and their daughter Lauren.
Understanding How Media Companies, Agencies and Clients are Evolving to Reach Today’s Farmer (Session 2 of 2)
Thursday, April 19, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Problem: We know that the profile of the farmer is changing and with that their media consumption, how and when they like to receive info, etc. The challenge for marketers is now how to effectively reach this younger demographic while still capturing the core, older farmer audience who represent the majority of decision makers.
In this session you’ll hear from a roundtable of senior media, agency and client leadership on how they see the media landscape shifting and how they are rethinking their business models and plans to accommodate this shift.
We will engage on subjects such as: How do you determine the best market contact strategy? What is the role of traditional print and radio going forward? What role does interactive and social media play? How can and should the offline and online world work together? What types of information are better suited for different media channels? What does this mean for traditional “one media type” companies vs. more integrated media companies? What can Ag communicators and marketers learn from the general, non-Ag market?
Moderator: Curt Blades, National Sales Manager, Successful Farming
Panelists:
Pat Rosner, V.P. Director of Integrated Media, Osborn & Barr
Stephanie Liska, CEO, Beck Ag
Charlene Finck, Editor, Farm Journal Media
Jason Ward, Brand Manager, BASF
Marketing Metamorphosis:
How Smart Marketers Use Digital Marketing to Accelerate Customer Acquisition & Retention
Thursday, April 19, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Friday, April 20, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
The digital revolution has totally transformed the way brands acquire and retain customers. Inefficient one-size-fits-all marketing communication has given way to more effective one-to-one customer engagement strategies that are fueled by data and enabled by interactive marketing technology.
In the digital age of marketing, all marketing is becoming “direct” marketing and “serving” has become the most effective strategy for selling. The ability to quickly and effectively deliver relevant information and timely offers personalized to the customer’s needs, interests and preferences has become the difference between being a customer retention contender or pretender.
In this session, Joel Book of ExactTarget will show how innovative companies are using digital marketing – anchored by Email, Social and Mobile, and Websites -- as the backbone of a cross-channel life cycle marketing strategy to acquire, engage, grow and retain customers.
What Attendees Will Learn:
- - Why the days of the “single channel customer” are gone for good and why an integrated cross-channel customer engagement strategy is vital for marketing success.
- - How to use SEO and Social Media -- like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube -- to fuel the conversation about your brand and attract new customers to the brand or product website.
- - How to use Email to deliver relevant and timely information that aids the customer’s purchase decision, drives repurchase, and improves the customer’s product usage experience.
- - Why data is “the new black” of one-to-one marketing and how to use a subscriber preference center to identify the needs and interests of individual subscribers.
- - How to leverage customer data and CRM technology to nurture leads, increase penetration of existing accounts, and support the selling effort of local dealers.
- Examples of Digital Marketing Innovation Will Include:
- Scotts Miracle-Gro
- Volvo Construction Equipment
- Ally Financial
- Baxter Healthcare
Milwaukee Electric Tool
Joel Book
Joel Book is a Principal in the Market Research & Education Group of ExactTarget, a leading provider of software solutions for cross-channel marketing and customer service communications using Email, Mobile, and Social Media.
Regarded as one of the top digital marketing strategists in the country, Joel applies more than 35 years of experience in database marketing to teach organizations how to use digital media and marketing technology to attract, engage, serve and retain customers.
Book is no stranger to agriculture. He grew up and worked on his family’s 3,000 acre farm in Illinois before leaving for the University of Illinois where he earned a B.S. in Marketing Communications in 1976. And from 1984-1990, Joel was Vice President, Marketing Services at Farm Journal where he led the launch of the company’s database management services business in 1985.
He is a member of the Direct Marketing Association, the Business Marketing Association, and has been recognized by the Sales Lead Management Association as one of the top 50 most influential people in sales lead management.
Sell it Like You Mean It
Friday, April 20, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Whether you are looking to get your sales team’s year off to a great start, a mid-year jolt, or your team needs to finish your year off with momentum, this program is full of principles that will empower your sales professionals to be re-energized with passion, desire and commitment regardless of their success levels. Whether, you have a team of high producers that have flat-lined or your whole team needs to crank it up, you need your sales force to out-think and outperform the competition and win big in the sales game. You will learn how to overcome objections, incorporate storytelling, establish yourself as an expert, your reps will stop selling and influence your customers to buy. Mr. Accountability believes that some sales people are born but most of them are made. This program will inspire your sales team to produce at another level.
Walter Bond
The Political Landscape and Impact in an Election Year
Friday, April 20, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
The 2012 election season is setting up to be a pivot year for agriculture and agricultural issues, from farm bill legislation to trade bills and biofuels. This session will feature representatives from each of the Republican and Democratic parties presenting their views regarding issues important to agriculture in an election year. The speakers will present opening statements and then answer questions from moderator Tom Steever, Brownfield Network and the current president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.
Moderators: Tom Steever, Brownfield Network
