Our Barn Door Is Open How Transparency and Communication Can Rebuild Trust

Our Barn Door Is OpenHow Transparency and Communication Can Rebuild TrustClaire MaskerNational Pork Board

The Erosion Of Trust And The Rise of Questions

The Erosion Of TrustWhat do you think caused it?

Trust Overshadowed by SkepticismOnly 38% trust the government to do whats rightOnly 33% say the media gets its facts straight

49% say conventional agriculture is on the wrong track

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The Trouble With ScienceIf people trust you, the science doesnt matter. If they dont trust you, the science doesnt matter.

The Credibility GapYou say They hear

Our methods are proven safe.

We keep food affordable.

We care about our land and animals.

We NEED to produce more to FEED the world.

We need a secure domestic food supply.

Most farms are family-run.

Your methods tamper with nature.At what expense to quality?But beholden to big processors and the bottom line.You will take profitable short cuts when and if you can.You WANT to produce more to SELL to the world.You want subsidies and lax regulations.Pesticides, antibiotics and hormones might not be safe in the long-run.

We have the safest food supply in the world thanks to the ag industry.

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Transparency

What Is Transparency? How Do We Show It?

The Trouble With Transparency

Heres a video of some research USFRA conducted with consumers on transparency.

Communication

Communication That Works

How people think about food and food production is as much about their emotions, context, and perceptions as it is about the objective truth

Communicating Today13FROMTOPresentFutureMessagingStorytellingFacts and DataNarratives TellingShowingExplainingExperiencing

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Content ConsiderationGeneral public does not have the same baseline understanding of animal or farm life as farmers.

The general public does not have the same baseline understanding of animal or farm life as farmers.

I mentioned a few slides ago that we should avoid positing images that could be confusing to non-producers.

Something to consider for all your pork production content is:

The general public does not have the same baseline understanding of animal or farm life as farmers. 14

Black And Gus

Opening The Barn Door

What is Americas Pig Farmer of the Year?Contest to find the countrys best pork producerExcels at raising pigs by demonstrating the We Care ethical principlesWants to share how they do it with the publicBuilds on many successful elements of the Environmental Stewards programSeeks to create goodwill and transparency among engaged consumers who can influence others

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2015 Winner Keith SchoettmerAn army built based solely on defense will surely be defeated.

And The 2016 Winner Is

Why A Foodie Blogger Tour?Food bloggers are highly influentialThey are increasingly getting questions about how food is being raised Giving them an exclusive experience can do wonders for your brand

The PR Challenge: #RealPigFarmingOld social media approach to grow Facebook likes and Twitter followers failed to engage.Activist groups leverage social media well and Pork Checkoff needed to compete.

The PR Approach: #RealPigFarmingOpportunity: Create a social movement Among pig farmers, friends, college animal science students.Motivate real farmers to share real stories of modern pork production.Feature a diversity of farms and farmers (all sizes).Address consumer questions in real-time.Prepare for a backlash from activists.

Student Social Forces12 students selectedMeeting at National Pork BoardContent calendar creation$500 scholarship for meeting milestones24

Overall Results25

The Negative

What Weve LearnedPhotos and stories that share pig farmer personality get most interaction. Blog posts get much more interaction.Timing of posts is important.Promoted posts are important to remain relevant on Facebook.User generated content (i.e. photo contests) are popular.Its important to tell stories with We Care principles. We can share hot topic content, when appropriate.

Meet The Real Pig Farmers of America

How will they meet them?Dynamic video contentVideos released to-date have almost 500,000 total views Producer takeoversBlog posts that shares farming storiesPhotos, photos and more photos

Pig Farmer TakeoversThomas TitusPeriscope eventLauren SchwabFacebook Live EventPhil BorgicThree new videos producedPart of Chicago Tribune response30

The Women of #RealPigFarming

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