Farmers proceed to face myriad existential challenges: local weather change, regulation, rising prices and slimmer margins. And household farms are being pushed out of enterprise: Based on 2022 Canadian census figures, the variety of farms has fallen by 44% within the final 45 years, from 338,552 in 1976 to 189,874 farms in 2021.
Canada-based McCain Meals is doing its half to “reimagine” how its companions develop, harvest and maintain the model’s staple product: potatoes. Maybe surprisingly, this consists of constructing a sustainable and profitable farming expertise in a digital world.
“We’re attempting to rework the farming group,” stated Christine Kalvenes, svp for world advertising at privately held McCain Meals. “We’re attempting to rework the atmosphere. It’s actually about driving regenerative farming as a mechanism for the survival of farming general.”
It’s about paying it ahead. [Gen Z] are a gaggle that’s going to grasp easy methods to decide up the baton and transfer from right here.
Christine Kalvenes, svp for world advertising, McCain
The initiative is a part of family-owned McCain’s dedication to implement regenerative agricultural practices throughout its crops by 2030 by bettering farmer resilience, yield and high quality, whereas decreasing artificial inputs.
The 65-year-old model, recognized primarily for its frozen meals, should develop into “extra forward-thinking,” Kalvenes stated. Her objective is to speak the important nature of regenerative farming to a youthful viewers. The model is growing a digital expertise primarily based on real-life operational farms by Roblox’s Livetopia.
“It’s about paying it ahead,” Kalvenes stated. “[Gen Z] are a gaggle that’s going to grasp easy methods to decide up the baton and transfer from right here. We’re speaking about energy collectively. That’s the appropriate viewers, that’s the appropriate group.”
The attraction of gaming
Based on analysis from Newzoo, Gen Z customers spend 14.9 hours every week partaking with video games and digital worlds, whereas 53% spend greater than half of their time partaking with sport IP in methods aside from taking part in.
In the meantime, gaming content material has additionally grown in recognition throughout non-gaming media platforms, driving curiosity in testing alternatives inside digital worlds.
Kalvenes, who labored with company Gravity Street, started the undertaking with in-person visits to accomplice farms. From there, designers started constructing the Farms of the Future digital world, which permits gamers to develop potatoes utilizing regenerative farming strategies, integrating livestock by rotational grazing and inspiring biodiversity.
An actual-life factor was then launched as an important part of the marketing campaign. Pop-up NFT-themed eating places allowed gamers to say Regen Fries. Since we first reported on this in October, greater than 10,000 servings of fries have been handed out throughout Los Angeles, Toronto and London whereas greater than 1,000 items of merchandise has been distributed. The bucket hat is proving to be the preferred.
Winners have been additionally given a digital token that may present them to be one of many first to attempt the Regen Fries. One other factor of the marketing campaign, #saveoursoil, has amassed greater than 12.7 million views on TikTok.
“We proceed to refine, however the return on funding is fairly excessive,” she stated of the response. “The second that you simply began intersecting actual with social with digital, the amplification results have been superb.”
Kalvenes admits to being stunned that having initially anticipated the degrees of exercise to drop off after December, they’re now planning the following levels after seeing 9 million guests within the first six weeks, a determine that has now risen previous 17 million.
Evolving McCain’s positioning
Since becoming a member of McCain from SC Johnson in 2021, Kalvenes has been targeted on the thought of togetherness. Earlier model positioning was about “households across the desk.” Now, it’s about “a way of belonging,” she defined.
In farming, it’s about displaying individuals how one can drive resilience to local weather change, and what that may appear to be.
Christine Kalvenes, svp for world advertising, McCain
Whereas the thought of making a farming sport was an early one, she was undeterred when the company workforce identified that there are already 1000’s of farming video games in existence.
Kalvenes believes success is about speaking the appropriate messaging, on the proper second, in the appropriate medium. That could be a mixture of “funnier, quirkier” messages that aren’t all the time in regards to the heritage of the model.
Advertising and marketing measurement
Whereas Kalvenes relies in Chicago, advertising for McCain sits throughout “a wide range of areas and international locations.” With a view to assess marketing campaign effectiveness they use “standardized and conventional strategies,” together with a mixture of modeling for every area and nation to find the simplest platforms and strategies.
“I take an method the place roughly about 70% of the spend goes towards tried and true, the place you possibly can produce the ROI. Roughly 20% of the spend goes towards modern areas, issues which are somewhat little bit of a stretch. After which 10% is check and study,” she defined, noting the digital expertise is the latter. The advertising workforce additionally makes use of model fairness and model penetration monitoring instruments.
Amid a worldwide financial slowdown mixed with excessive inflation, McCain is attempting to financially assist its farming companions. It’s working with credit score unions equivalent to Crédit Agricole in France and Farm Credit score Canada to assist farmers not solely keep in enterprise, however undertake regenerative processes.
The corporate has additionally partnered with McDonald’s Canada to launch the $1 million Way forward for Potato Farming Fund.
The model’s function round togetherness may even proceed to evolve, she added, with messaging already begun within the U.Ok. and a world marketing campaign presently being developed in Canada.
“We discovered a manner that was trustworthy and significant to face out,” stated Kalvenes. “And in farming, it’s about displaying individuals how one can drive resilience to local weather change, and what that may appear to be.”
