The power of community campaigns to unite a new company brand name with its loyal customers.

When global agriculture giants Dow and DuPont came together under a new moniker – Corteva Agriscience – we were engaged to execute a range of marketing activities based on community-focused campaigns to promote the new brand name to agronomists and growers in the Australian horticultural and agricultural sectors around the country.

The opportunities presented by the fresh new company name sat alongside the risks of losing customer recognition. It was vital that all initial awareness strategies focused on the farming communities that were valued customers of the previous branding and were acknowledged for their loyalty by being taken along for the journey with Corteva Agriscience.

Our Approach

The very first strategy was built around a photo competition, that encouraged growers to submit a photo illustrating science working with nature on their farm. The ‘carrot’ to enter was a trip to the World Agri-Tech Summit in San Francisco alongside key Corteva Agriscience staff. The competition was linked to the purchase of selected previous DowDuPont products, to ensure the entrance were existing customers.

Entries were leveraged on social media and through PR exposure. The hub of the campaign was a landing page and entry form where entrants could upload their images and provide their details, helping Corteva build their customer database. Awareness was raised through a targeted email campaign with concurrent social media activity and trade advertising. Retailers were given trade packs, including counter cards, drum tags, posters, email templates to promote in-store.

The most resounding success, however, is that the competition winners have become great advocates for the Corteva Agriscience™ brand and have been part of ongoing content marketing opportunities for other product campaigns.

The success of the initial community-based campaign formed the basis of other successful promotions, including a Club House Rescue and Community Grants program. Corteva Agriscience partnered with retail wholesalers in farming communities selling their product, to encourage local agronomists and salespeople to nominate a community project worthy of a cash grant, funded by Corteva, Nutrien Ag Solutions and CRT. These campaigns were supported by the same retailer trade packs and reinforced by media releases, website stories and specifically targeted content to rural and regional community platforms.

Corteva Agriscience also committed significant manpower and philanthropic funds to mental health awareness leaders, Trademutt and Active Farmers. Through strategic and community-led partnerships, campaigns were built to highlight the human side of the global company. These included long-form feature stories, media releases, written profiles and short video pieces, all built around one of Corteva’s key messages, ‘When farmers win … everybody wins.’

Campaign Elements

The Result

In a short amount of time, the key objective of being a known name with an enduring relationship with both long-term and new customers has been achieved. Through a strategic saturation of Corteva Agriscience messaging to all farming communities through genuine community engagements, the brand has achieved customer recognition along with an understanding of the company’s commitment to rural and regional Australia for the betterment of the horticulture and agriculture sectors more broadly.