Big Harvest Creative owner Mark Johnson spent 10 years in the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative system as a communications pro. During that time, he witnessed first-hand the challenges of marketing and branding county co-ops within a federated system.
It’s not easy.
Advertising and marketing in the farm supply world is a lot more complicated and important than it used to be. Over the first 40 years of the existence of the cooperative system in Tennessee, Co-op dominated the market. It wasn’t even close. Most farmers were Co-op members, the business model was critical, and word-of-mouth was pretty much all you needed.
But it’s not that way anymore.
Today, there are a world of options for a consumer, even in agriculture and rural living. It’s not enough to rely on the longtime reputation enjoyed by Co-ops. Rather than railing against this inevitable fact, we recommend that you pair your valuable reputation, incredible brand equity, and rural heritage with cutting-edge marketing that is competitive in today’s retail climate. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming and budget-busting. Big Harvest is here to supplement the support that you already receive from TFC, helping you with the areas that LaVergne is not equipped for, either by time constraints or otherwise.
At no other marketing/advertising agency will you find the understanding of or experience with Co-op that you will find with Big Harvest. Period. During his time at TFC, Mark won more than 100 national awards in communications, including Cooperative Communicator Association Writer of the Year and Best of Show in the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives annual communications contest — twice. Mark is a seasoned writer, photographer, video editor, email marketer, and web developer. Best of all, he and his team can apply this vast amount of experience to YOUR CO-OP!
How do we do it?
Website development
Having a professional website can seem daunting and scary, and it’s no wonder. Because almost any computer savvy person can make a website, the quality, experience, and price of web development can vary wildly, from somebody’s teenaged nephew in his bedroom to a high-end marketing firm in a downtown Nashville skyscraper. Big Harvest was created to be a low-overhead, high-value agency that is easy and straightforward to deal with. We will build you an attractive, highly functional, professional website with integrated MailChimp email gathering and e-commerce capabilities at an affordable price. After it launches, we will either train your staff or provide you with a monthly retainer proposal to handle your marketing and website maintenance — whichever you choose.
Email Marketing
Don’t be fooled by the rumors that nobody uses email anymore. That isn’t true. While there is always another new and shiny option for communication, usually in the form of social media, nothing has yet emerged to take the place of email. It is the only consistent and predictable way of engaging with your audience on your own terms. Farmers co-ops have been notoriously slow in adopting e-marketing, and the longer you put it off, the more sales and brand loyalty you’re losing. We will set up for you a free MailChimp account and integrate it into your website and social media. This way, you can communicate with your customers and members when you want with attractive and effective emails.
Social media marketing
Social media is not the end-all-be-all answer for marketing, but it IS a valuable tool in your overall marketing plan. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all effective ways to create and built a community and enhance your brand equity. The same as with your website and your emails, your social media presence should be friendly and professional. Big Harvest Creative can roll your social media efforts into our monthly retainer and keep it consistent with everything else you’ve got going on. Of course, we will stay in close contact with you to acquire content and promote events in a timely manner. We will also stay on top of trends and changes in social media algorithms to keep you in front of as many users as possible.