As a seedstock producer, you are probably already keen on the advantages in advertising, but do you know what makes a good advertisement? Is it what you say? Is it the colors or graphics used? Could it be the size of the ad or when you run it?
Like many seedstock producers, Kelli Brown of R.A. Brown Ranch in Throckmorton, Texas, believes advertising is an important element to their business. As a well-established brand in the industry, Kelli says they use advertising as a means to keep brand awareness high and to inform new and returning customers about sale dates.
“We try to differentiate ourselves from others by concentrating on what we do best,” Kelli says. “We believe that’s product quality and quantity, service, industry leadership and years in the business.”
Kelli explains that rather than trying to “sell cattle” with their advertisements, they try to drive traffic to their website or encourage the viewer to call to receive a catalog. “We want that catalog to drive them to our sale and then rely on the cattle at the sale to sell themselves,” she says.
Getting down to basics
As with most things in life, advertising costs money. It should be viewed as an investment that will work for you – if you set it up to.
Kevin Brown, lead designer at Progressive Publishing says, “Advertising in agriculture is really no different from advertising in other industries. The success of an ad basically boils down to two things: It’s got to be creative and compelling.”
To design such an ad, Kevin says there has to be a few things that, if clearly defined and executed, will help make an advertisement successful and stand out from the rest. Here is what he says:
1. Clearly define your goal or objective for the ad. Ask yourself questions like: Am I marketing a new product or promotion? Am I reminding the viewer of my services? Who am I trying to reach? What action do I want them to take?
2. Clearly guide the viewer to action. It is important to build a hierarchy for the ad. Establish a focal point or determine what the first thing (text, photo, graphic) is you want the reader to see. Then determine what the second thing is, and so forth. If everything is trying to get our attention first, the ad can be overwhelming to look at and hard to read.
3. Be clear about your advertising strategy. Look at your budget and other factors and make a plan that provides for your needs – and be realistic about it. Consider the effectiveness of running a full-page ad once versus running a smaller ad consistently throughout the year.
Running a smaller ad more consistently has the potential to reach more eyes because of its frequency. Frequently running an ad strengthens your message, your brand and your success rate.
“Seedstock breeders should always be cognizant of promoting year-round,” says Tracey Koester, owner of Cow Camp Promotions and Koester Red Angus in Steele, South Dakota.
“Of course their budget should be related to the number of cattle they’re selling, but name recognition and brand building start from the bottom and grow. … You can have the best bulls in the world, but if you don’t share their merits through advertising, bull buyers won’t find them.”
Koester grew up watching her dad, Melvin Leland of Leland Red Angus in Sidney, Montana, send and receive ad proofs via fax. She says he was, and continues to be, a proponent of advertising, and that’s carried with her as she started her own advertising business and seedstock operation.
Recognizing marketing can be expensive, Koester says to avoid telling your entire story in one ad. If an ad is too word-heavy, cluttered and overwhelming, readers won’t stop to take a look, she says. At that point, the advertiser has spent a lot of money on an ineffective ad.
“Some of the best advice is to keep an ad simple, attractive and creative with a clear call to action or to an event,” Koester says. “Breeders should use their websites, social media, brochures and sale catalogs to share all the fine details. Advertising’s purpose is to capture their attention and give your potential bull customers motivation to see the full story – and ultimately attend and purchase at your sale.”
It’s all in the details
Brown says there isn’t an absolute word or picture count an ad should have. For example, if an ad is testimonial-style, it will obviously have more text versus a more image-heavy ad, but both can be successful, he says. It all depends on the goal of the ad.
When choosing images, Brown says to consider whether each image helps tell your story and to avoid using ones that don’t. Ask yourself: Can I use one or two images, or do I really need all six or 12 to entice the viewer? He also says don’t be afraid to crop in to the photo to focus more closely on the subject.
In choosing text, Brown recommends sticking to one or two fonts. Doing so will not only create order but will also help focus the attention on the message. He says to keep in mind: Small text or text over a busy background isn’t legible and will be overlooked by the reader.
“Knowing what the purpose of the ad is, who it is intended for and the expected outcomes guides the rest of the decisions made when creating the ad. Anything that doesn’t help accomplish the objective of the ad should be removed or at least carefully considered,” he adds.
Fortunately for Kelli and Koester, all of their advertising is done in-house. This decision was made largely because they personally could do design work, or they had staff on board that could. In any other case, both recommend hiring it done through a competent agency that can convey your brand, your product and meet your budget goals.
So whether you’re a longtime advertiser looking to revamp your efforts or a newbie to the seedstock world, remember your advertising is as good as you make it. It’s a lot like the saying, “Garbage in, garbage out” – and nobody wants to pay for that. 
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Cassidy Woolsey
- Editor
- Progressive Cattleman
- Email Cassidy Woolsey
