Ag Communications
Program
November 2014
Background – 2012 DIRT Report
 “Occupants and farmers were most likely to not notify a One
Call center prior to digging, with two-thirds (66%) of the
damages involving this group were not preceded by a locate
request.”
 “In addition, occupant/farmer was the only excavator
group for which “Notification NOT Made” represented
more than half of the damage root causes reported
(63%).”
 “Seventy-five percent of liquid pipeline releases
involving farming activities could have been
prevented with a call to 811.”
Additional Observations
1.
97 percent of US farms are operated by families – individuals, family
partnerships or family corporations.
a.
Big business, larger equipment, more laborers on-site
i.
More than 21 million American workers (15 percent of total
workforce)
2.
36 of the 50 states have notification exemptions for agricultural or
ranching activities.
3.
Due to these current exemptions, it’s vital to get the message of safety
and damage prevention out to as many individuals as possible.
a.
Reduce the misconceptions regarding the depth of pipelines
b.
Encourage locate requests even when notification exemptions
exist to prevent damage
c.
Awareness of potential hazards regarding deep tillage practices
Program Objectives
1. Create a National media campaign that includes
multiple levels of outreach, effectiveness
measurement and continuous improvement
2. Create content for Regional / State media
campaigns that supplement the National campaign
and provide additional communication in targeted
areas
3. December 11, 2014 is the deadline to receive
commitments from members to begin initial
program activities on January 3, 2015
Program Activities Designed to…
1. Increase awareness and visibility that will benefit both the
agricultural community and the pipeline industry
2. Establish and foster understanding, promote involvement in
damage prevention and protection of land, influences
behaviors, attitudes and actions
3. Provides timely and useful information that is vital to the
livelihood of agricultural communities and underground
infrastructures
4. Leverage an array of outreach that involves both the
communication of information and a means to gauge the
success
Program Elements
1. Program Logo / Brand, Web Content and
Microsite
2. Farmers Almanac Print and Digital Media
3. Peterson Brothers Partnership and Social Media
4. Targeted Social Media – Spring and Fall
5. Earned Media Placement in Print and Online
Publications
6. Partnership with CHS, article in C Magazine
7. Baseline Survey and Four Year Effectiveness
Evaluations
Farmers Almanac
FARMERS ALMANAC - PRINT AND DIGITAL PARTNERSHIP
Weekly E-Newsletter
Mid Banner Ad Space
Full Color, Inside Front
Cover Ad Space plus
Multiple Page Safety
Guide inside print
version
Farmers Almanac
FARMERS ALMANAC - PRINT AND DIGITAL PARTNERSHIP
 Weekly e-newsletter with a Mid-page Banner graphic promoting ag safety and
pipeline awareness – links to web content
 Messages are current, practical and creative
 Inside front cover
 4-page safety guide within print version
Almanac Stats & Facts
 2.6 million printed copies distributed annually
 Readership of nearly 7 million people annually
 58% are farmers and ranchers; 32% are homeowners with interests in
gardening, weather watching/predictions, etc.
 Readers are defined as “information seekers” and a “motivated audience”
 Seen as a reference book that contains weather forecasts, planting charts,
solar activity and climatology (“North America’s most timeless, trusted, and
treasured source for long-range weather predictions”)
Peterson Brothers
PETERSON BROTHERS PARTNERSHIP AND SOCIAL MEDIA
 Safety-focused video parody that includes ag safety, pipeline awareness and
damage prevention messages
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48H7zOQrX3U&list=PLpniJUeAKfupM
AobWOtCvEmjosZiPX07S
 Purchased ad space leading into their most popular parodies
 Purchased ad space on their Facebook and YouTube channel pages
Ag Safety
Parody
YouTube
Peterson Farm Bros
Facebook
Peterson Brothers
Peterson Farm Brothers Stats & Facts
 31+ million views of their entertaining and educational farming videos
 With a call to “do the right thing, no matter the situation”
 They continue to realize a need to inform people about farming and
agriculture as a whole. There are many misconceptions about modern day
farmers and they feel it is their calling to help change some of those
misconceptions.
 Getting attention through comedy and fun; uses agricultural focused
messages in their parodies, informational videos and documentaries
 Presentations in 30 states and 3 countries to young ag and farming
audiences
 Huffington Post & Fox News Quote: “Peterson Brothers are making a big
impact and giving a face to the agricultural operations of today”
Social Media
SPRING AND FALL TARGETED SOCIAL
MEDIA PUSH
 Through national brand outlets such as
Facebook, Twitter and other niche outlets
targeted specifically to the agricultural
community
 Will promote damage prevention,
pipeline safety resources available
through PAPA and other pipeline industry
organizations related to ag safety and
pipeline awareness.
Print & Online Publications
EARNED MEDIA PLACEMENT IN NATIONAL PRINT AND ONLINE
PUBLICATIONS
 Leveraging existing print and online publications with strong reach to
agricultural businesses and into agricultural communities
Examples:
CHS Partnership
Ad Space Presentation and Article in C Magazine – published by
CHS
 Article to be published in C Magazine at least one time per year
 Potential other partnership opportunities available - TBD
 Leveraging existing print and online publications with strong reach to
agricultural businesses and into agricultural communities
CHS, Inc. Stats & Facts:
 “CHS is a leading global agribusiness, owned by farmers, ranchers and
cooperatives across the United States”.
Estimated Cost Over 4 Years
Element
Web Development
Cost Frequency
$4,000
1
Total
$4,000
Per Year
$1,000
Brochures, Handouts, Articles
$10,000
1
$10,000
$2,500
Videos
$10,000
2
$20,000
$5,000
Pretesting and focus groups
$12,000
1
$12,000
$3,000
Farmer’s Almanac
$40,000
4
$160,000
$40,000
Peterson Brothers
$36,000
4
$144,000
$36,000
Targeted Social Media
$10,000
4
$40,000
$10,000
National Print and Online Publications
$10,000
4
$40,000
$10,000
Baseline Survey (includes development)
$21,000
1
$21,000
$5,250
Follow up Survey and Evaluation
$21,000
1
$21,000
$5,250
$7,000
4
$28,000
$7,000
Administration and program development
Total Annual Expenses
$125,000
Participation and Sponsorship
•
Participation is open to any organization or company
•
Three levels of sponsorship:
 $3,000 per year – applies to smaller operators with less than
1,000 miles of transmission pipeline
 $7,000 per year – applies to medium sized operators with
1,000 to 5,000 miles of transmission pipeline
 $15,000 per year – applies to larger operators with more than
5,000 miles of transmission pipeline
•
Registration in the online form and a four year commitment is
required. Sponsors will receive invoices in January.
Participation and Sponsorship
•
2015 invoicing option - if a company desires to participate but is
unable to pay the full sponsorship amount the first year, up to
1/3 of the initial year sponsorship may be deferred to the
following year (2016)
•
If the program is oversubscribed, sponsorship amounts for
future years will be adjusted accordingly
•
The program will be directed by the Ag Committee
 All sponsors are members of the Ag Committee
 Members may also serve as a Co-Chair by volunteering
 Co-Chairs are members of the Ag Steering Committee
Deliverables
All Sponsors Receive:
•
Survey Results and Findings
 Baseline survey & results in 2015
 Follow up survey & results in 2018
•
Media Communications
 Farmers and other members of the Ag community
across the US
 Documentation for media campaigns
•
Program Materials
 Web content, print materials, campaign messaging,
videos
Tentative Implementation - 2015
DATES
PROGRAM ACTIVITY
PRELIMINARY CREATIVE CONCEPTS
December 11, 2014
Deadline for program registration
January 2015
Benchmark survey, focus group testing, kick- 400 samples = surveys, National media outreach
off program
implementation plan
February 2015
Present creative concepts from research
Initial creative concept to steering committee
members
March 2015
E-Newsletter
Farmer’s Almanac E-newsletter mid-page banner ad
April 2015
Spring social media push, Earned media –
print &/or on-line article submittal
Various national brand outlets & ag-related social
media sites, article submittals to multiple different
publications
May 2015
Farmer’s Almanac creative due, E-Newsletter
Inside front cover plus 4 page safety guide, Enewsletter mid-page banner ad
June 2015
Peterson Farm Bros partnership
Ad space around popular farm video creator &
partnership
July 2015
E-Newsletter
Farmer’s Almanac E-newsletter mid-page banner ad
August 2015
CHS partnership, Farmer’s Almanac print
version publication date
Article submittal to C Magazine, Farmers Almanac
September 2015
Fall social media push, E-Newsletter
Various national brand outlets & ag-related social
media sites, Farmers Almanac mid-page banner ad
October 2015
Earned media – print &/or on-line article
submittal
Article submittals to multiple different publications
November 2015
E-Newsletter
Farmer’s Almanac E-newsletter mid-page banner ad
4 Year Program Cycle
2015: Program development, national baseline survey/research, creative content
development and pre-testing materials
• Conduct survey in January – report to members in March
• Finalize program strategy, concepts and messages based on pretesting and
survey data
• Launch national media campaign
2016 : Expansion of program
• Expand and modify mix of outreach strategies and/or update materials based
on outreach and engagement data
2017: Expansion of program
• Expand and modify mix of outreach strategies and/or update materials based
on outreach and engagement data
2018: Next program cycle begins, program evaluation
• Follow up survey in 2018 to assess change in message comprehension,
behaviors and behavioral intent
• Program will continue with updates/changes based on results of survey
2015 Sign Up Deadline - December 11, 2014
Access the online registration form at:
https://pipelineawarenessorg.wufoo.com/forms/ag-communications-program/
For Additional Information:
Jeff Farrells
Jeff.farrells@pipelineawareness.info
719-374-3873