Why a Holistic Approach to Advertising is the Key to Success in 2024

Agriculture – the lifeblood of the United States – has always lived at the crossroads of cutting edge technology and long-held traditions. Over the centuries farmers have always embraced the new, adopting inventions that make life easier, while still retaining the traditional ways of working that have fed and sustained societies. There is both a healthy skepticism and deep curiosity that’s embedded deeply into agricultural life.

Advertising – an industry that conjures up images of slick office towers crammed with executives scheming about how best to sell perfume – feels about as far from the world of agriculture as you can get. And yet, in a global economy, advertising remains a vital part of sales and marketing. When it comes to selling farm products and solutions at scale in a crowded marketplace, recognition is vital; and advertising is the best way to achieve this.

Advertising used to be as simple as putting an ad in a local magazine to share information on your product and brand. But how can you cut through in a fragmented digital world where concentration spans are short?

The answer – like all things in agriculture – is to take a holistic approach and embrace both the old and the new.

The visual impact of print, the tangible nature of a magazine in hand, still holds sway

 

Magazine advertising is not dead

While the idea of taking out an ad in trade press feels increasingly old-fashioned in a world of TikTok, it’s still a powerful force worth considering.

Magazine advertising, with its broad audience reach, remains a stalwart in the industry. It serves as a powerful tool for raising general brand awareness, resonating with the deep-rooted values that define the agricultural community. Choose a publication you trust, and your association with their brand will create trust with your audience. The visual impact of print, the tangible nature of a magazine in hand, still holds sway, providing a lasting impression in a world often characterized by fleeting digital interactions.

The impact of magazine advertising is broad – and this works in your favor. While you have no control over who sees your ad, you are also planting the seed of brand recognition in the minds of thousands of people who will subconsciously become more likely to buy from you in the future.

It’s a great foundation to build from. If you think about your marketing strategy as a funnel, magazine ads sit at the wide opening at the top.

Unlike the slower pace of traditional media, programmatic advertising sharpens its targeting prowess with the speed of digital technology

 

The Cutting Edge: Programmatic Advertising

But how can you shift simple brand awareness into solid sales?

In recent years, a new player has emerged in the advertising landscape – programmatic advertising. In the digital realm, programmatic advertising is the GPS – guiding marketers through the vast complexity of the internet, ensuring they reach their intended destination with precision.

Programmatic advertising operates on the principles of automation and targeted efficiency. It’s not a “spray and pray” approach – pushing your ad out onto as many pages as possible in the hope it finds eyes who are interested. Rather it’s a sophisticated automation where brands and publishers converge through supply-side and demand-side platforms.

In simple terms, this means automatically buying up advertising inventory in near real-time that gives you the best chance of reaching exactly the audience you want, at exactly the right time.

Unlike the slower pace of traditional media, programmatic advertising sharpens its targeting prowess with the speed of digital technology. The integration of first and third-party data, such as FarmMarket™ data, empowers marketers to refine their campaigns based on specific criteria, from crop types to environmental triggers like droughts or heatwaves.

It puts you in the driver’s seat of who you want to target. While magazine advertising is the broad opening of your funnel, programmatic advertising is the slender targeted portion.

 

Symbiosis in Advertising: The Holistic Approach

While each provider of advertising will tell you theirs in the best approach, the truth is a combined approach gives you the best chance of making sales.

If you think of your marketing strategy as a crop field, magazine advertising is the broad expanse of land, sowing the seeds of brand recognition across the agricultural landscape. Programmatic advertising is the meticulous, data-driven cultivation that targets specific rows with precision. It’s the marriage of tradition and innovation, each complementing the other.

The strength of the holistic approach lies in its ability to create a fertile marketing environment. The initial exposure from magazine advertising establishes the groundwork, and programmatic advertising nurtures it further. When a producer encounters a brand both in the glossy pages of a magazine and in the digital realm, familiarity breeds trust. This trust, in turn, increases the likelihood of converting awareness into a purchase.

In the fields of agricultural marketing, a holistic approach isn’t just an option; it’s the key to a bountiful harvest. As we tread into 2024, crop producers in the mid-U.S. are well-positioned to leverage the best of both worlds – the timeless embrace of tradition and the dynamic reach of programmatic precision. It’s not just about advertising; it’s about crafting an enduring narrative that resonates with the soul of agriculture, ensuring a prosperous yield in the ever-evolving landscape of marketing.

 

Want to learn more about what programmatic advertising can do for your business? DTN can help.