MESSAGE
TO THE RIGHT
AUDIENCE
grown by 57%. In the same timeframe, the associate member
(non-ag policyholders) to producer member (farmers and
ranchers) ratio had shifted greatly, from around 50/50 to more
like 70/30 associates to producers.
And while Farm Bureau’s audience had changed significantly,
their member publication hadn’t at all.
“We had used our Ag Leader newsletter for more than 20 years
to communicate with our members, but with the changes in our
membership, it wasn’t the right approach anymore,” VanderWal
adds. “If you live in town and work in a non-ag career, are you
going to read a publication called Ag Leader that’s filled with
agriculture policy updates? Not likely.”
MATCHING THE MESSAGE TO THE AUDIENCE
Farm Bureau enlisted the help of VistaComm to pull together
ideas for how to proceed. A design upgrade was the first order of
business for this black-and-white, text-heavy publication. But
even though the before-and-after was one of the most dramatic
design upgrades you’ll find, the project would have been
unsuccessful had the work stopped there. Communication
with purpose would not be achieved until the right audience
got the right content.
South Dakota Farm Bureau® communicates with a purpose
By Kristin Brekke Vandersnick, VistaComm® Journalist
T
o achieve communication with a purpose, let’s start at
the very beginning with the letter A. You need to consider
your audience. Seems simple enough, right? But missing
the mark on this all-important step can have dire consequences
for the effectiveness o