Good editorial for all of us to consider: “A knee-jerk reaction to the Chipotle commercial; Think before you hit ‘send'” by Kayla Jentz at Dairy Business. A reminder that we have to think differently if we are going to connect with our customers.
Source: Dairy Business
A certain commercial (Chipotle, cough) aired during the Grammy’s, and if you didn’t see it there you may have seen it circulating online the last few months, and if you didn’t see it then you probably saw at least twenty friends Facebooking or Tweeting about it.
Now, I’ll agree that it wasn’t good for agriculture’s image in general. I’ll agree that it takes aim at the practices we use in modern agriculture. And, I’ll be the first to acknowledge that I was upset after seeing it the first time online a few months ago. And, of course as many of you were, I was upset after seeing it air nationally during the Grammy’s. (I was also upset after seeing it as a preview to a movie I went to see in the theater, just to show you the reach of a single ad campaign.)
Many in the ag industry are upset by the commercial, and many sounded off about it on social media. I woke the morning after to posts such as “I’ll never ever eat at Chipotle again!” and “Terrible advertising” and many, many more.
Now, I have to sound off.
Let’s be sure that this was not terrible advertising from Chipotle’s perspective. They reached millions of consumers via that single commercial. They’ve been reaching them online for months, and they’ve been pinpointing key places like movie theaters where impressionable consumers are right there, just waiting for them. They got their message across about wanting to be sustainable loud and clear. Isn’t it the goal of any ad campaign to have a clear message seen and heard by millions?
I took a glance at Chipotle’s Facebook page this afternoon, and be sure that there were hundreds upon hundreds of posts thanking Chipotle for the great commercial and commending them for their work towards sustainability. There are also more than a few upset farmers and ag supporters sprinkling the page with comments as well.
While I am extremely happy to see farmers standing up for what they do, this is where I get most frustrated. I see comments from ag supporters along the lines of “educate yourself” or “you don’t have the slightest clue about what goes on on family farms” or “you lack personal experience backed by knowledge and research”.
Do you think any of those comments help the situation? Consumers read those and are outright insulted. Instead of reasonably explaining your issues with the commercial and possibly having a good conversation with a consumer, people are creating consumer enemies.
There are a few ways to make people very, very angry. Up there on the list, insulting their intelligence. It’s probably true that they don’t have personal experience on the farm, and they might not be the most educated about farm practices. But, lets be honest- they are the ones that buy our products and they don’t really care about the science and research behind what we do. They see pictures of syringes and pills and waste associated with animals, and no matter what you do or say, it probably isn’t changing their mind.
I’m not saying give up the fight here either, but do think like a consumer thinks. You’re talking about farm efficiency and trying to convince people that antibiotics have a place in animal agriculture, but the consumer is thinking ‘Does it really matter? I just want safe, wholesome food that is cheap for my family.’
We all want a safe, wholesome food supply that’s affordable. So, let’s work together to make that happen, and quit the insults. Hear the other side, and respond rationally, or better yet, ask questions of the consumers. Learn about them. What did you take away from the Chipotle commercial? Do you think it was an accurate representation of agriculture? How can we change what we’re currently doing? Questions like these allow for us to find some common ground and may even lead to change for the better. Change is hard to face in our industry, but a lack of change can also have its consequences.
We know the consequences of less than stellar consumer demand. Just ask Hostess who filed for bankruptcy after years and years of selling Twinkies and Hostess Cupcakes. The demand wasn’t there anymore, and now they’re out of business. It could just as easily happen to the dairy industry. Consumers are already trying out soy and almond milk and finding other dairy substitutes. Last night, I saw that McDonald’s had just released news, along with everyone’s favorite Humane Society of the United States (sarcasm), that they will require U.S. Pork suppliers to start phasing out gestation crates. The duo could just as easily be phasing out antibiotics, hormones, dehorning or any operation that doesn’t allow cows to be grazing.
All ranting aside
After you see a commercial or video similar to Chipotle’s, just calm yourself (I know it’s hard). Maybe even reflect on it for an hour or two (even harder). Then once you’ve simmered down, go to your favorite social media site and make rational posts, and I urge you to think about how your post might be viewed from the consumer perspective before you hit ‘send’. Does this post insult someones education, work, or otherwise? Will the facts and research stimulate questions or just blank stares? And before you send, remember you’re sending this out to people who support your business by purchasing your products. Without them, you don’t exist.