Refreshing a classic
The restructured rural service aims to project a more youthful image
The restructured rural service wants to acquire a younger imageBy Luca AloisiThe placement figures for the rural service have been stagnating at a moderate level for years. The situation is not as alarming as it was in the 1980s, when voluntary service struggled to survive. Nevertheless, a change in style is necessary. If the original Helvetian institution wants to regain popularity, a new strategy is needed to lure the young audience.
"We work according to modern methods," Bruno Pfeuti, Landdienst managing director for 14 years, is convinced and describes how he wants to make the "educationally valuable offer" more palatable again to the young audience - especially 14- and 15-year-olds. Because: Good public relations for fundraising this way, funny advertising appearances for recruitment that way: the popularity of the 55-year-old Landdienst (LD) - "incidentally also a credible and meaningful PR instrument of agriculture," says Pfeuti - which was dynamic in the first nineties, has become lame as a wing.
The change in leisure time behavior and the offer of vacation jobs in recent years reduced the number of placements (2000: 3302). Nevertheless, this is still a considerable number for the five full-time positions added up over the year and the extremely low placement costs of LD. However, given the average of around 9,900,000 young people per year, there still seems to be a lot of untapped market potential for the niche product of LD.
Pfeuti remains realistic when he doesn't even try to return to the club's heyday. In the sixties and seventies, entire school classes would fly out to help with the grape harvest, for example. Conquering a place in the commercialized leisure time of fun-oriented young people is becoming increasingly difficult, he knows.
A colorful bouquet of noble ideals....
A new organizational mission statement and more youth-oriented communication tactics are needed. At a closed meeting at the end of 1999, those responsible for the LD were already thinking about the range of non-profit activities in order to reprofile the positioning of the private association, which is subsidized on the basis of performance.
Based on the positioning in relation to society, agriculture, youth and school as well as various future scenarios - from worst to best case - they derived possible developments on the one hand. On the other hand, they noted that although the land service is an offer for a minority, it is well anchored among various population groups and could exploit its high credibility even better economically. They also said that the potential for growth looks positive with positioning aimed at education (schools) and the cultural sector. For example, recent placements in nearby foreign countries make the offer more attractive.
Instead of investing in more advertising and campaigns, the association must invest more in product design through upgrading and in cooperations. At the same time, he said, the direct as well as inherent benefits for young people must be precisely formulated and communicated. "The young person learns in the land service in many cases a multiple of what in it in the school abhockt", means Pfeuti. It is also motivating for young people to feel that they are needed. The experience of making a valuable contribution helps build self-esteem.
In order to support the temporary educational authority, the farm family, in this role, the LD has recently introduced a quality program to eliminate the weak points. Fine words for noble ideals. But how have these values been communicated so far? One notes that the LD has so far only partially pinned its resolutions to the banner of its public relations work. After all, the LD does not shy away from criticism or transparency.
...awaits a fresher
Communication Tactics
Let's start with the brand: Bruno Pfeuti is well aware that the name Landdienst is not ideal for attracting young people to the service. In fact, you can see in the new umbrella campaign that the name actually only appears on the homepage. And in the other advertising media, the word mark "Power beim Bauer" (Power at the Farmer) has now become established, which should bring about a lasting image revival.
The LD must also be used against the
Be able to stand competition
In 1997, not only the logo was redesigned by freelancer/cartoonist Beat Sigel. A new brand was also proposed: Agristage. This was dynamic, young, clear, expressive, concise and would fit better with the slogan "Power beim Bauer" (Power at the Farmer) in terms of language groups, argued Managing Director Pfeuti at the time.
But since the new brand would mean a disconnection from the historical and meaningful term, one fears losing the support of the farming families. And so the brand still has a somewhat stuffy zeitgeist flavor, reminiscent of the "blood and soil" terminology and Friedrich Traugott Wahlen's "Anbauschlacht".
Bruno Pfeuti can only spare a weary smile for such concerns. He is much more concerned with the crisis- and scandal-ridden image of the agricultural industry, which inevitably radiates to the LD. No positive headline seems to be granted to the farming industry at the moment.
Against this background, the idyllic LD appearance almost comes across as an anachronism. "Of course, the image of our association is also suffering from the excesses of industrial animal production," says Pfeuti. The continuing demise of genuine full-time and family farms makes his task just as difficult as the growing competition at home and abroad - Holidays on the Farm, Bio Terra, Swiss Mountain Homes, Working Guest Program or Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOF) - which, if not positioned in the same way, nevertheless offer a similar range of products.
At last the campaign gains authenticity
With which advertising implementations does the LD now defend itself against these tendencies? "We don't claim to have extremely original advertising," admits Pfeuti. It is also necessary to take into account the rather conservative clientele. On the other hand, he is convinced that the LD advertising presence, which has seemed somewhat handmade up to now, has achieved a certain success thanks to continuity. "But we wouldn't be unhappy if an established advertising agency approached us and, on the basis of our preliminary work, gave us a hand," he says emphatically.
But the fact that he sets tight parameters as a client, and not just financially, becomes clear at the latest when Pfeuti comes to talk about the LD's annual magazine. In favor of a qualitative and serious style and layout, he turned down an offer from a PR agency that offered him a magazine that would have been financed by advertisements. Too cheap, judged Pfeuti, who also wants to use the four-page publication as a fundraising tool.
At least with the umbrella campaign, a fresher wind is blowing: On the one hand, the "biggest vacation job mediator" (self-advertisement) replaced the visual of the charmless pitchfork (2000) with the colorful snapshot picture sheet, and on the other hand, it deepens the headline - "The colorful experience".
To raise awareness of the summer offer at an early stage, an initial posting took place on several private railroads during the skiing vacations, which is now being continued by poster companies at favorable conditions on other larger surfaces. Only after the billposting period of other large NPOs will the second wave follow during the summer vacations - then no longer effective in recruiting - which will at least coincide in an image-promoting and confirming way with the farmers' brunch on August 1 and the time when most participants are in action. To increase the response even further, a competition and giveaways will be used this year, which will increase the direct marketing share in the advertising media split.
The organic fad pulls at the
Yogurt, but not with LD
As a further marketing element, in addition to sponsoring partners who facilitate media access, public relations are also intended to help the LD achieve a more contemporary image and self-image. With good reason: the change is coming from within. For 40 years, the LD was a decentralized agency in the cantonal administrations, mostly in the employment offices. But as a private association, recourse to public structures was untenable in view of the future. Two years ago, therefore, an organizational reform was decided.
The previously created supracantonal regional offices attached to the farmers' secretariats have the advantage that they know the clients and can better control them. Externally, the LD hopes to be able to generate more goodwill in the broadest circles - such as public administrations, politicians, media circles - with the leaner infrastructure.
Furthermore, the LD consciously strives for networking with other NPOs in order to sensitize young people to the topic of agriculture. Projects such as "School on the Farm," a one-day teaching unit that could be part of the curriculum in compulsory school levels and vocational schools across the board in a few years, lists Pfeuti, who incidentally has gained experience in dealing with young people in youth work.
Paradoxically, he will continue to do without a promotionally effective trump card: The fact that the mediation of the LD cannot explicitly play off the emotional buzzword "organic" is due to the fact that Switzerland simply has too few organic farms. Pfeuti puts it into perspective: "When it comes to the quality of experience in the countryside service, the production method is not as decisive as eating an organic yogurt anyway."
"We work according to modern methods," Bruno Pfeuti, Landdienst managing director for 14 years, is convinced and describes how he wants to make the "educationally valuable offer" more palatable again to the young audience - especially 14- and 15-year-olds. Because: Good public relations for fundraising this way, funny advertising appearances for recruitment that way: the popularity of the 55-year-old Landdienst (LD) - "incidentally also a credible and meaningful PR instrument of agriculture," says Pfeuti - which was dynamic in the first nineties, has become lame as a wing.
The change in leisure time behavior and the offer of vacation jobs in recent years reduced the number of placements (2000: 3302). Nevertheless, this is still a considerable number for the five full-time positions added up over the year and the extremely low placement costs of LD. However, given the average of around 9,900,000 young people per year, there still seems to be a lot of untapped market potential for the niche product of LD.
Pfeuti remains realistic when he doesn't even try to return to the club's heyday. In the sixties and seventies, entire school classes would fly out to help with the grape harvest, for example. Conquering a place in the commercialized leisure time of fun-oriented young people is becoming increasingly difficult, he knows.
A colorful bouquet of noble ideals....
A new organizational mission statement and more youth-oriented communication tactics are needed. At a closed meeting at the end of 1999, those responsible for the LD were already thinking about the range of non-profit activities in order to reprofile the positioning of the private association, which is subsidized on the basis of performance.
Based on the positioning in relation to society, agriculture, youth and school as well as various future scenarios - from worst to best case - they derived possible developments on the one hand. On the other hand, they noted that although the land service is an offer for a minority, it is well anchored among various population groups and could exploit its high credibility even better economically. They also said that the potential for growth looks positive with positioning aimed at education (schools) and the cultural sector. For example, recent placements in nearby foreign countries make the offer more attractive.
Instead of investing in more advertising and campaigns, the association must invest more in product design through upgrading and in cooperations. At the same time, he said, the direct as well as inherent benefits for young people must be precisely formulated and communicated. "The young person learns in the land service in many cases a multiple of what in it in the school abhockt", means Pfeuti. It is also motivating for young people to feel that they are needed. The experience of making a valuable contribution helps build self-esteem.
In order to support the temporary educational authority, the farm family, in this role, the LD has recently introduced a quality program to eliminate the weak points. Fine words for noble ideals. But how have these values been communicated so far? One notes that the LD has so far only partially pinned its resolutions to the banner of its public relations work. After all, the LD does not shy away from criticism or transparency.
...awaits a fresher
Communication Tactics
Let's start with the brand: Bruno Pfeuti is well aware that the name Landdienst is not ideal for attracting young people to the service. In fact, you can see in the new umbrella campaign that the name actually only appears on the homepage. And in the other advertising media, the word mark "Power beim Bauer" (Power at the Farmer) has now become established, which should bring about a lasting image revival.
The LD must also be used against the
Be able to stand competition
In 1997, not only the logo was redesigned by freelancer/cartoonist Beat Sigel. A new brand was also proposed: Agristage. This was dynamic, young, clear, expressive, concise and would fit better with the slogan "Power beim Bauer" (Power at the Farmer) in terms of language groups, argued Managing Director Pfeuti at the time.
But since the new brand would mean a disconnection from the historical and meaningful term, one fears losing the support of the farming families. And so the brand still has a somewhat stuffy zeitgeist flavor, reminiscent of the "blood and soil" terminology and Friedrich Traugott Wahlen's "Anbauschlacht".
Bruno Pfeuti can only spare a weary smile for such concerns. He is much more concerned with the crisis- and scandal-ridden image of the agricultural industry, which inevitably radiates to the LD. No positive headline seems to be granted to the farming industry at the moment.
Against this background, the idyllic LD appearance almost comes across as an anachronism. "Of course, the image of our association is also suffering from the excesses of industrial animal production," says Pfeuti. The continuing demise of genuine full-time and family farms makes his task just as difficult as the growing competition at home and abroad - Holidays on the Farm, Bio Terra, Swiss Mountain Homes, Working Guest Program or Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOF) - which, if not positioned in the same way, nevertheless offer a similar range of products.
At last the campaign gains authenticity
With which advertising implementations does the LD now defend itself against these tendencies? "We don't claim to have extremely original advertising," admits Pfeuti. It is also necessary to take into account the rather conservative clientele. On the other hand, he is convinced that the LD advertising presence, which has seemed somewhat handmade up to now, has achieved a certain success thanks to continuity. "But we wouldn't be unhappy if an established advertising agency approached us and, on the basis of our preliminary work, gave us a hand," he says emphatically.
But the fact that he sets tight parameters as a client, and not just financially, becomes clear at the latest when Pfeuti comes to talk about the LD's annual magazine. In favor of a qualitative and serious style and layout, he turned down an offer from a PR agency that offered him a magazine that would have been financed by advertisements. Too cheap, judged Pfeuti, who also wants to use the four-page publication as a fundraising tool.
At least with the umbrella campaign, a fresher wind is blowing: On the one hand, the "biggest vacation job mediator" (self-advertisement) replaced the visual of the charmless pitchfork (2000) with the colorful snapshot picture sheet, and on the other hand, it deepens the headline - "The colorful experience".
To raise awareness of the summer offer at an early stage, an initial posting took place on several private railroads during the skiing vacations, which is now being continued by poster companies at favorable conditions on other larger surfaces. Only after the billposting period of other large NPOs will the second wave follow during the summer vacations - then no longer effective in recruiting - which will at least coincide in an image-promoting and confirming way with the farmers' brunch on August 1 and the time when most participants are in action. To increase the response even further, a competition and giveaways will be used this year, which will increase the direct marketing share in the advertising media split.
The organic fad pulls at the
Yogurt, but not with LD
As a further marketing element, in addition to sponsoring partners who facilitate media access, public relations are also intended to help the LD achieve a more contemporary image and self-image. With good reason: the change is coming from within. For 40 years, the LD was a decentralized agency in the cantonal administrations, mostly in the employment offices. But as a private association, recourse to public structures was untenable in view of the future. Two years ago, therefore, an organizational reform was decided.
The previously created supracantonal regional offices attached to the farmers' secretariats have the advantage that they know the clients and can better control them. Externally, the LD hopes to be able to generate more goodwill in the broadest circles - such as public administrations, politicians, media circles - with the leaner infrastructure.
Furthermore, the LD consciously strives for networking with other NPOs in order to sensitize young people to the topic of agriculture. Projects such as "School on the Farm," a one-day teaching unit that could be part of the curriculum in compulsory school levels and vocational schools across the board in a few years, lists Pfeuti, who incidentally has gained experience in dealing with young people in youth work.
Paradoxically, he will continue to do without a promotionally effective trump card: The fact that the mediation of the LD cannot explicitly play off the emotional buzzword "organic" is due to the fact that Switzerland simply has too few organic farms. Pfeuti puts it into perspective: "When it comes to the quality of experience in the countryside service, the production method is not as decisive as eating an organic yogurt anyway."
