Some people think that storytelling is reserved for marketing consumer brands but nothing is farther from the truth. Companies who focus on selling to businesses equally need a clear and engaging story to differentiate themselves from competitors and engage decision-makers.
To quote marketing guru Seth Godin: “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.”
For startups looking for funding or more mature businesses seeking prospective partners and acquisitions, the ability to craft a compelling story is even more important.
One industry where we see smart companies telling effective brand stories is agtech. This rapidly growing market, which is currently worth almost $20 billion worldwide, uses technology to improve yield, efficiency, and profitability in agriculture, horticulture, and aquaculture.
Lessons Shared
At 29 Design Studio, we help companies craft their story for overall brand positioning. We have worked with numerous agtech brands to enhance their marketing efforts and assist them with pitches for competitions such as Grow-NY, which gives businesses a chance to win up to $1 million in funding.
We advise clients to:
- Embrace Clarity. Since many agtech companies are dealing with complex technology, it is vital that they communicate their message in terms that are understandable to purchasers.
- Blend Logic with Emotions. Prospects need to see the “why” before the “how.” Explaining the vision and purpose of a company and product often has emotional components that go beyond logical/rational benefits.
- Make the Customer the Hero. Talk about how the customer will benefit rather than how smart the company is at developing cool technology.
- Integrate Marketing and Sales. Agtech companies need to ensure messaging is consistent across marketing and sales efforts.
The following are four companies who we shared these lessons with:
Founder Jamie Sonneville, a fifth generation apple farmer with a deep expertise in technology, developed Agri-Trak software to help farmers bring technology onto their farms. For example, they create bracelets that apple pickers can wear in the field to keep track of their time to help with compliance and efficiency.
We consulted with Agri-Trak to position the company for significant scalability. We helped them develop the value statement: “Agri-Trak is building an ecosystem of data-driven farmers.”
We also created a pitch deck for Grow-NY, where the company won the $10,000 audience choice award. This deck not only explained the technology Agri-Trak offers, but gave better insight to the problems in the apple farming industry, the pain points farmers face, and the opportunity to make like simpler (and more profitable) for the customer.
Combplex is a smart frame for beehives that automatically identifies and zaps Vaerroa mites with a laser. Vaerroa mites are the leading cause of death in beehives.
We rebranded Combplex and designed Combplex’s pitch deck for 76West where they won $500K. We structured their message so potential customers and investors see the benefits of their product.
Image from Cornell Chronicle
Ascribe Bioscience isolates a microbiome in soil and transforms it into an affordable biopesticide that acts as a vaccine for plants, protecting them from disease.
We helped Ascribe Bioscience understand how to talk about their products in a way that anyone could understand – a vaccine for plants. They won $500K at Grow-NY with this positioning and the pitch deck we helped them develop.
Our engagement with Soos focused on telling their story and amplifying their presence in the United States through social media. This Israeli company, who was a 2020 $1M Grow-NY winner, uses radio waves to change the sex of chicken eggs into egg-laying hens. In many countries, egg culling, the practice of killing male chicks, is becoming illegal.
We’ve had a relationship with RealEats since their early days. The meal delivery service company makes it simple for people to eat real food. We’ve worked with RealEats on strategy, branding, design and overall marketing – always utilizing storytelling to help differentiate them from their competitors. Whether the messaging is empathizing with busy home chefs, celebrating their locally sourced ingredients, or Read more about our work with RealEats here.
If you would like to know more about how 29 Design Studio can help your agtech firm grow, please let us know. We would love to help.