By Krista Wiebenga
This year’s ACN Spring Regional Workshop was hosted at McDonald’s Global Headquarters in Chicago, and we were lovin’ it!
In my current role, I’m a Senior Account Executive at Curious Plot. From the agency side of the business, I had some unique perspectives on the content shared, but I still had plenty of useful takeaways that will help me both in my daily work and as I continue to build my career.
Big Picture Takeaways:
- It was fascinating to see the larger ag supply chain being at McDonald’s Headquarters. It’s easy to get caught up in our specific segments of the agriculture industry, but looking at the impact of agriculture from the perspective of a fast-food giant like McDonald’s – and considering the steps and organizations required to take food from the farmers to the BigMac consumers – was a great way to think about more of the industry.
- The collaboration throughout the workshop between journalists, PR folks, associations, company representatives, and freelancers made for a great day. It really drove home the value of BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS with the media and other communicators in the industry.
- We also talked about how media is becoming so much more than just traditional journalists and broadcasters. As we build relationships and think about opportunities to spread our messages and share our stories, we should also consider podcasts, influencers, and other unique ways to reach our audiences.
Photography and Writing Tips:
- When taking a picture, think about the world like you’re looking through a View Finder – make sure you have a foreground, midground, and background. This gives the photo layers, depth and interest that helps tell the story.
- We heard from photographer Christopher Dilts, who shared some interesting insights about AI and how AI impacts the world of photography. While AI poses many ethical and artistic questions for all creatives, he shared that in some cases, AI filters are being built directly into cameras (and not just the ones in our phones).
- Whether you are taking a picture, writing a story, or explaining a complex issue, we were reminded that simplicity is the best way to explain things.
Covering Today’s Tough Topics:
We spent most of the afternoon having a very open conversation about the challenges of covering the current events impacting agriculture, from ever-changing tariffs to new policies and MAHA food recommendations.
- As we think about messaging, we should look at the bigger picture instead of just focusing on what happened today, since things are changing so quickly and comments may soon become outdated or irrelevant.
- Divisive policies, strong party lines, and so many touchy subjects make it hard to reach audiences in ways that they will actually listen or read a whole story. Telling the farmer’s story can often help keep party lines and touchy subjects out of it.
- We need to focus on absolute truths, which agriculture has been good at for a long time. We like backing up our claims with data and studies and explaining the science. But how do we make facts matter when our culture is so emotionally driven that the facts don’t seem to matter anymore?
Current events and conversations that could directly impact my agency clients:
- Bayer’s decisions on managing their Roundup litigation issues could impact all of crop protection. It could also open the door for other types of weed control beyond traditional herbicides.
- A new bill aimed at reforming checkoff programs could significantly impact how these organizations operate and where they can spend their money.
- New health standards – that may or may not have scientific backing – are impacting how some consumers are thinking about their food. From the push against seed oils to concerns about pesticides, these could have far-reaching impacts.
A huge thanks to the team who organized the workshop and created a great day of collaboration, learning, and networking!
– Wiebenga is Senior Account Executive at CuriousPlot