tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post960816849899685425..comments2023-09-23T06:23:22.682-06:00Comments on Advocates for Agriculture: Farm AmericanTroy Hadrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17729642328778709521noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post-16627072953068161582010-10-28T18:18:51.418-06:002010-10-28T18:18:51.418-06:00Part Deux...
So you don't think the 160 milli...Part Deux...<br /><br />So you don't think the 160 million consumers we can reach through the NASCAR crowd and the customer base of Furniture Row companies are worthy audiences? I spent more than 30 minutes with someone that would shock you at the Bristol race who was completely sold on Food, Inc. Myself and two farmer guests we had on hand managed to at least partially change her mind. On my way to that race I encountered a PETA RV traveling to the same destination. Several people around the garage each weekend have been encouraging friends and family to watch Food, Inc. Some names you would know well are closely associated with groups that haven't done agriculture any favors. That's just part of what the racing element of Farm American can touch. We haven't even talked about the non-NASCAR, furniture buying consumers we can reach through Furniture Row. <br /><br />Agriculture spends too much time and money talking to itself, and this NASCAR project is just another example? Latest research shows approximately 600,000 of the 75 million NASCAR fans are farmers and ranchers. Is there a good reason we would forsake engaging the other 74.4 million simply because less than 1% of the total is farmers and ranchers…not to mention forsaking the tens of millions touched through Furniture Row assets?<br /><br />I am failing to see how this program doesn't measure up to everything Troy and Stacy…and thousands of others…believe it is.<br /><br />I find it unfortunate that someone from within agriculture would draw judgment on a program they don't fully understand. Would talk it down. And would then accuse 'self promotion' of the only person whose cared enough about farmers and ranchers to actually invest dollars in their message. The same person who dedicates his spring Talladega car to the National Day of Prayer simply because he's deeply vested in his faith. Shame on him? No. Shame on you.<br /><br />I'm here with no secrets, no hidden agenda, no self promotion. Just a passion to raise the awareness of America's farm families, and their importance to American's daily lives. I dedicate myself to assembling and proposing bold, new ideas that will accomplish this goal so agriculture is in front, not playing catch up.<br /><br />I believe if someone wants to say there's a better way, they should be prepared to offer that alternative. Like Troy, I'm all ears…<br /><br />We can sit here and debate this all day long if you like. Having been in the middle of consumer relations campaigns for the last decade, I am absolutely comfortable with what this program will do. In the mean time local, state and federal agencies will continue making it tougher to farm because consumers aren't weighing in. They're comfortable with "Made In Wherever" stickers, which works for the most part. Its easy to say 'what's the big deal if our food comes from somewhere else'…because everything else does. Foreign governments and critics are taking advantage of this weakness, accelerating the process of production moving somewhere else. If we're not willing to take bold steps shoring up consumer relations now, lets not waste each others time and just pack our bags.Patricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post-89795158033787650322010-10-28T18:01:47.672-06:002010-10-28T18:01:47.672-06:00This response will have to be done in two parts as...This response will have to be done in two parts as I have much to share...<br /><br />Let's get this on the table right up front. I am part of the Furniture Row Racing team. I am the person that built the Farm American model. I am also a Midwest farm kid that baled hay, hoed beans and put fence posts down during the summer. Froze his tukus off cleaning barns in the winter. I've picked and sorted tomatoes for weeks on end, been run over by steers while vaccinating and have had to wipe my eyes clean dealing with leaky valves on anhydrous nurse tanks. I was a State Officer in the FFA, Star State Farmer in Agribusiness and have my American FFA Degree. Then I spent 20 years as a Farm Broadcaster. My family still actively farms, and I bleed American agriculture. While I may be a 'team' guy, I think I've earned the right to say something here as an agriculturalist.<br /><br />@anonymous: If this program were simply paint on a car and patches on a uniform, your comments about how much it cost would be spot on. However, paint and patches are the smallest part of this effort. This isn't a NASCAR sponsorship. It is a multi-dimensional communication initiative. In fact, the car is just a linchpin that binds together a dozen other communication tools that carry the weight. Do you have any idea how much it costs for the season just to rent the real estate to park the AgExperience tour we haven't even built yet? Roughly $1m. Let's forget about the mobile tour, video vignettes in every American Outdoorsman episode (which airs in more than 80 million US households), and a farmers market at every track. Furniture Row is dedicating its retail assets to the effort. Between store traffic in 335 stores across 31 states, presence in their advertising, on their delivery fleet and many other elements, Furniture Row touches 30% of the US public every week. You can't buy this kind of support unless you are willing to build your own national retail chain and dedicate its resources to a cause that earns you nothing. The program was specifically designed so that even if the car didn't perform, the program would still be successful.<br /><br /> One other fact it is important for everyone to understand about the dollar amount. Standard rule of thumb in the sponsorship business…for every $1 spent on a traditional program, which is what @anonymous' 'competitive teams' comment refers to, $2 will be spent by that sponsor to properly activate the sponsorship. In other words...to produce and place all the advertising, POP materials and external support pieces it takes an additional $2 for the first $1 you spent to buy the rights. In the end, a $20m sponsorship costs closer to $60m...if done right. Because Furniture Row is dedicating resources that are already part of their infrastructure, activation is built into this program...no $1:$2 ratio. $22m is buying what would otherwise cost agriculture $50-$60m. And that's IF you could find a national retailer that would give you access to their organization. <br /><br />As for competition, you must have missed the two top 15's in a row. One of those was with the Farm American car in Fontana, where roughly 4.5 million viewers and a few million radio listeners saw and heard about Farm American for more than four straight minutes because of our jump to the front. There has barely been talk of the race this last weekend without discussion of how Furniture Row's third top 15 in a row, if not its first top 10, was stolen away because two other drivers accidentally put our car in the wall causing damage it took us 50+ laps to fix. We use Hendrick engines, Childress chassis' and are ahead of schedule in a three year plan to be a Chase team.<br /><br />Part Deux next...Patricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post-25245223397965646512010-10-27T19:44:26.475-06:002010-10-27T19:44:26.475-06:00So what you guys are saying, and let me get this a...So what you guys are saying, and let me get this absolutely straight, I don't want to make a mistake here is--this is hopeless, let's not even try? And you call the guy who funded the biggest part so far self-serving?!<br />You should be ashamed of yourselves! All we've been asked to do is spread the word and you're already running off like frightened little children who see a monster under their bed! The LEAST we're can do is try to get help!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post-40366880598859584692010-10-27T19:11:33.674-06:002010-10-27T19:11:33.674-06:00Troy what a blessing agriculture has its fingertip...Troy what a blessing agriculture has its fingertips. I think we (agriculture) get too focused on having the best racer, star, whoever promote us and don't notice all of the people in the middle who probably can have a bigger impact telling the story of raising food. Thank you for sharing this opportunities with all of us willing to come together and start with those who believe in our hard work, integrity, and ingenuity.Leah Beyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14196975840269617794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post-12154451204219029212010-10-27T15:32:31.197-06:002010-10-27T15:32:31.197-06:00While Furniture Row's intentions are honorable...While Furniture Row's intentions are honorable and well-meaning, the execution is lacking. The NASCAR audience, even if every member doesn't exactly know where their food comes from, isn't the one agriculture needs to reach. They're not buying Food Inc. and the the Omnivore's Dilemma.<br />You can be assured that Wayne Pacelle and Michael Pollan know precisely who they can reach, and how best to do it...in addition to the already-converted. Agriculture spends far too much time and money talking to itself. The NASCAR project is just another example. No agribusiness believes $22 million isn't much money. Just ask some of them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post-86382291516538251282010-10-27T11:25:59.794-06:002010-10-27T11:25:59.794-06:00@Jan We aren't asking producers to fund this....@Jan We aren't asking producers to fund this. I've been seeing producers step up to tell their story one person at a time. Now I want agriculture businesses to do their part to help share our story. <br /><br />@Anon I'm not sure how you can say the people at Furniture Row are self-serving. Barney has spent $2 million of his own cash on this project. When the FA car runs there isn't a Furniture Row sticker anywhere on the car. For someone with no ties to ag I'd say he's been incredibly unselfish. If you read my blog post you will find out that the $22M would also fund the traveling educational exhibt that would be feature in every FanZone at every race as well as other events. And the competitive teams normally run with budgets closer to $30M, FYI. <br />If you have an idea for how we could use $22M to reach nearly 200 million people, I'm all ears. <br /><br />@Tom I haven't censored any of your posts. This was the only I got from a Tom. Feel free to try resubmitting your original post.Troy Hadrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17729642328778709521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post-60090416418825785822010-10-26T12:26:21.655-06:002010-10-26T12:26:21.655-06:00My first post didn't meet with the the censors...My first post didn't meet with the the censors rules apparently. So, I will say this, I think the money could be better spent some where else IF we could even come up with that amount.Tomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post-54218652695664818662010-10-26T08:07:21.894-06:002010-10-26T08:07:21.894-06:00The Furniture Row car has ran for several years wi...The Furniture Row car has ran for several years with less than stellar drivers such as Kenny Wallace. Furniture Row is self promoting in my opinion. Some of the competitive teams would like to have $22M budget. This one car team that has never been competitive won't come close to garnering much attention for the farmers. While I am all for being an advocate of agriculture, this is not the team to reply on and money can be well spent other places. Regan Smith is the best part of this team and I wish him the best of luck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post-76832130935514118422010-10-25T14:23:23.835-06:002010-10-25T14:23:23.835-06:00This sounds like an awesome opportunity. I'm n...This sounds like an awesome opportunity. I'm not so sure on the $ though. Double digit millions is tough to look at when $12,000 is out of reach and "hopeless." With enough people it's reachable...just not sure there's enough people. What people say they support and what their $ supports isn't the same. I hold out hope that will change.Janhttp://www.slowmoneyfarm.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531617304191579626.post-47849933879284548652010-10-25T10:19:03.061-06:002010-10-25T10:19:03.061-06:00What a wonderful opportunity for farmers and ranch...What a wonderful opportunity for farmers and ranchers. Thank god for people like Barney Visser. I can't wait to share this with my students this afternoon.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10755040043994064601noreply@blogger.com