blog: 
Harvest Musings
by Scott McClure on 9.27.2011 in Company News, Strategic Planning 1
I was sitting outside a few weeks ago when the temperatures were in the mid-70s, despite the calendar noting that we were in the ides of August. The mild weather reminded me that in only a few weeks farmers will begin earnestly gathering the fruits of their labor.
After more than 30 years of being a part of agricultural harvests, I still find myself excited at the prospect of participating in an end to another cropping year, the point in time that farmers have literally strived for, sweated over, and prayed about all season.
It marks the conclusion to a season that began with optimism and all the exhilaration that naturally comes from making a fresh start. It’s a season that typically includes the trials of damaging weather and pests, which can be catastrophic for some growers.
Still, despite the challenges, if you’ve ever lived in a rural community, you know the unique anticipation that builds as harvest begin. For many, the local economies depend on successful yields to generate an upswing in spending important to their bottom lines. Thus, the businessmen—restaurant owners, equipment and automobile dealers, retail store proprietors—share in the farmers’ enthusiasm.
Better writers than me have waxed poetic over harvest time, and that really isn’t the purpose of this post. Instead, the thought that struck me was how similar the business of marketing is to the cyclical nature of agriculture and the anticipation of a season’s end.
Like farmers, we begin a campaign with detailed preparation and study. They look at crop prices and prospects to determine what to plant, analyze soil samples for optimum fertility, clean up weeds in preparation for a clean start and select varieties or hybrid with the best potential to perform in their area, or even their own fields, with a proven track record of results.
The Ag team at Brighton approaches a new campaign with that same intensity, understanding that the front-end work is as important to success as the actual execution. It begins with a thorough analysis of objectives and options. There’s also the advantage of understanding the landscape, our “field” so to speak, and the invaluable experience of knowing the audience—how they think, and when they make decisions.
As in farming, we know there will be challenges throughout the season and unexpected developments that create obstacles or opportunities. There is an advantage to having the experience to anticipate those happenings when possible and to respond with confidence regardless.
And finally, there’s the harvest, the time when we see how much we’ve moved the needle for our clients, see the results of success and watch that success impact others.
Harvest is an exciting time for me, and I look forward to experiencing it again and again with our clients.
I enjoyed the way that you used farming as a metaphor for marketing, Scott. Reading through Brighton’s case studies, I get a sense of the thoughtful care for clients that you describe.
For example, your team wouldn’t have come up with innovative ways to reach and build relationships with your clients’ consumers–things like Cotton Community, the Farmers’ Forecast, or Virtual Test Plots–without first having a solid understanding of them and their needs. And although the yield of your efforts is affected by many factors, your clients are certainly helped by the strategic insights and intelligent marketing initiatives that your team has come up with.
Here’s hoping your clients are enjoying a successful harvest this year. Keep up the good work.