This is a exciting opportunity for your brand to have a presence on one of Australia’s most frequently visited sites. With over 230 million page impressions a month and users averaging 16 mins on the site, this new digital advertising avenue will significantly broaden the reach of any campaign.

Additionally, with 23 million per month visits from outside metropolitan areas it makes bom.gov.au the number one website for traffic in regional and rural Australia.

Currently, there is only the Homepage Medium Rectangle available (300×250 pixels), however, there are plans to roll out spots on the State Forecast pages in the next week. This provides an opportunity to target campaigns to specific States.

Most exciting, is the chance to advertise on the regional radar pages which will allow a campaign to target specific regional areas. For example; a specific campaign can target the radar location of Mildura, which includes 128km distance around Mildura.

When we’re planning your next bout of media please keep in mind that weather is third most popular online activity with 89% of online Australians going online for their forecasts in 2012, third only behind Email (99%) and Search (93%)^.

To hear more about this new advertising channel please email your account manager or accounts@redhanded.com.au

^2012-2013 Nielsen Study of online Australians

Launching the Grand X needed an advertising campaign that matched the size, power and luxury of Kubota’s latest tractor.

New Kubota General Manager – Sales and Marketing, Malcolm Owens said it was important to have a campaign that aligned with Kubota’s core values and highlighted the new features of the Grand X.

“With over 120 years’ expertise in tractor innovation Kubota prides itself on delivering experiences that surpass agricultural farmers and contractors expectations,” Owens said.

“The Grand X delivers efficiency, control and power in a luxury that people would not be expecting.”

The campaign, titled Sheer Tractoring Pleasure, is built around a commercial that parodies over-the-top luxury car ads, with an imagery and voiceover that reflects the likes of Audi, Mercedes and BMW.

The campaign, which debuted on Sunday 14 April on regional television nationwide, will then be supported by cinema, print, and online.

Andrew and Angus join redhanded

Andrew Hardeman joined redhanded as a Strategy Planner and Senior Account Manager. He holds a Bachelor of Psychology and Marketing/Management and an Honours degree in Marketing from Monash University where he specialised in understanding what influences customers’ in their judgement of a company’s reputation. Andrew has played a key role in developing redhanded’s unique Rural Values and delivers outstanding strategic insight into the everyday behaviours, values and attitudes of rural and regional consumers.

Angus Street joined the group as Account Manager and Head of Communications after three years at Meat and Livestock Australia, where he held a communications role managing key stakeholder relations. Reared on a cattle property in Northern NSW near Scone in the Hunter Valley, Angus has a strong understanding of the livestock industry and is passionate about creating engaging opportunities for clients with unique market insights, derived from his broad customer facing experience.

redhanded is excited to add Andrew and Angus to its already highly passionate client services team.

Addressing the labour shortage in the Australian Agriculture sector begins with students understanding that agriculture is more than farming and harvesting – it’s a science, a business and an art.

Career Harvest, an online career hub, plans to bring farming back into the spotlight and inspire a new generation of leaders in the food and fibre industry.

To launch the website, a video ‘The Role of a Lifetime’ has been created by redhanded Communications Group to highlight farmers aren’t the only role that contribute to feeding the worlds growing population.

Independent Chair of the Career Harvest Board, David Anthony said, “producers, growers and pastoralists are directly responsible for growing the food and fibre that feeds this world. However, there is much more that goes into getting the produce from paddock to plate”

“There are chemists, veterinarians, marketers, accountants, engineers and even entrepreneurs who all work to improve the efficiency of agricultural enterprises and build a sustainable industry for future generations.”

“This video is the first step in breaking down any misconceptions people may have about the agriculture industry. Testimonial video’s from agribusiness employers will then provide a direct contact for those interested in learning more about this great industry.”

Career Harvest is supported by over 40 industry organisations, demonstrating a united front to this very important issue facing the industry.

Media Contact: redhanded Communications Group Communications Lead Angus Street 03 9429 2870, 0416 865 868, angus@redhanded.com.au

Career Harvest was developed to inspire a new generation of leaders in the food and fibre industry

An Australian website has been launched that seeks to curb the national crisis in agricultural education by reframing how people view the industry with inspiring information on more than 250 career options.

Australia’s agricultural sector and food dependant economy accounts for 12 per cent of national GDP, 14% of exports, 17% of employment and utilizes almost 60% of Australia’s land mass.

The national skills shortage issue is widespread across the industry and has been highlighted in various senate submissions over the last 12 months.

Branded as ‘Career Harvest’, the online hub was developed to inspire a new generation of leaders in the food and fibre industry.

An initiative of the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture (ACDA), redhanded Communications Group and Rimfire Resources, Career Harvest showcases what careers are available and what skills and education are required for different positions.  Career Harvest also provides links to where students can find more information about education opportunities and share testimonials from people working in their chosen careers.

By highlighting current challenges and opportunities such as feeding the world, adapting to climate change, managing the environment, operating profitable markets, managing future energy sources, and maintaining biodiversity, Career Harvest showcases how a career in agriculture enables students to make meaningful contributions.

ACDA Secretary Jim Pratley said the Deans were very excited to see Career Harvest was providing a new meaning to careers in the food and fibre industry.

“Career Harvest was developed by the Deans to meet what was seen as a shortfall in the information available to potential students in terms of professional agricultural careers, so it now fills that void and the Deans are very excited. Career Harvest is about the lifestyle and attitude more than the association with the industries. That makes it a quite different perspective for potential students,” Jim said.

“We’re hoping that we will see quite a dramatic shift in people’s attitude to careers in the agricultural industries.  It’s about informing them of the great and diverse opportunities that exist, that people in the past have not been really aware of. Career Harvest brings them up to speed with what opportunities there really are, not what are perceived to be.”

The youngest member of the Career Harvest board, emerging professional representative, Caspar Roxburgh said Career Harvest changes the conversation about careers in the food and fibre industry to one that young people respond to.

“Every young person is trying to figure out who they are and find their deeper purpose in life, their identity is linked to doing something that will give them that sense of deeper purpose,” Caspar said.

“Career Harvest shows agriculture can give that in a huge range of areas because it links those deeper reasons for why we choose to go to work in the morning with career paths and education options and with people working in those roles.”

Independent Chair of the Career Harvest Board, David Anthony said the website was the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive look at the many rewarding and exciting career opportunities available in agriculture.

“Agriculture provides the gateway to a huge range of career horizons and opportunities, from production and food and fibre security vocations to environmental stewardship as well as careers in sophisticated research, engineering, economics and communication,” David said.

“Career Harvest provides for the first time a comprehensive map and insight into the rewarding and exciting career opportunities that can be built on in the agricultural universe”.

The site launches today with more than 20 industry supporters, demonstrating a united front to this very important issue facing the industry.

Career Harvest is a not for profit incorporated association.

Visit Career Harvest at careerharvest.com.au

Media Contact: redhanded Communications Group Communications Lead Saskia Pickles 03 9429 2870, 0423 970 568, saskia@redhanded.com.au

The latest Devondale ads play to the usual stereotypes that have plagued our farming industry for many generations. Photo: Devondale.

Rural Australians are older, less educated, less wealthy, drink twice as much alcohol and are about as fit as the local publican.

They smoke more, eat poorly and are less likely to engage in formal exercise, according to the Roy Morgan State of the Nation Report 2012.

You could construe from this that all farmers are dim-witted bogans, and it appears making fun of them in marketing campaigns is just good sport right now.

They call it “building brand awareness”. It’s all about getting the consumer to remember your product over your competitors’ at that moment of truth in the supermarket.

Get the sale at any cost.

Who cares about the misconceptions it creates of the industry.

But is this the sort of awareness our industry needs right now?

The latest campaign for Dairy Co-operative Devondale has polarised the industry.

I am sure the mainstream consumer is blissfully unaware of our dairy farmers’ discontent as the Dev and Dale commercials play to the usual stereotypes that have plagued our farming industry for many generations.

We have an image problem and if we don’t do anything about, we will be forced to import our workforce.

Recently, I was part of a round-table discussion at La Trobe University addressing the skills shortage in our industry.

I heard how the Dairy Futures Co-operative Research Centre had introduced two incredibly successful initiatives driving industry awareness in mainstream schools.

Both initiatives “Cows create careers” and “Camembert in the classroom” have stripped away the clichés and painted an exciting picture of a career in the dairy industry.

Conversely, Animals Australia last month launched a slick television and online campaign attacking farming in Australia.

It implies most pig and poultry operations in Australia are rearing animals under cruel conditions.

It paints a picture of an industry stuck in the dark ages.

Frightening isn’t it? Your right to farm is under threat.

Our industry has a responsibility at every level to present a sophisticated, and innovative industry, not Dad and Dave satire.

The industry is made up of young and intelligent people who are looking after the environment and the welfare of their animals.

Do you think Dev and Dale are capable of reflecting such a sentiment? Or is our only responsibility to sell more milk, butter and cheese?

It’s time.

Agriculture needs a rebrand.

Note: This article originally appeared in the opinion section of The Weekly Times on Wednesday 21 November 2012.

See the Devondale ads here.

new redhanded Senior Creative Group Heads Dan Forrestal and Tim Forte

redhanded Communications Group has added a wealth of creative talent and experience with the appointment of two Senior Creative Group Heads.

Dan Forrestal and Tim Forte have begun work as Writer and Art Director respectively, and together will play a leading role in redhanded’s Creative Department.

redhanded Managing Partner Paul Hand welcomed Dan and Tim as a very capable team that will provide impressive creative firepower and depth to redhanded.

“We’re still trying to win our first Gruen (The Pitch on ABC) and these guys have walked away with three!  We simply had to hire them!” Paul said.

Dan Forrestal and Tim Forte have worked as a team for six years creating campaigns such as ‘Avoid Fare Evasion Karma’ for Metlink, ‘Murray River. Wind Down’ for Victoria Tourism, and ‘Beware of the Cars’ for ANCAP.

Dan hails from Perth where he built up careers in both advertising and music successfully.  He signed a record deal and made four albums with Fourth Floor Collapse – who feature in Gotye’s first ARIA win – before returning to advertising, adding gold to the Art Directors Club of New York alongside other advertising and music industry awards.

Tim spent his early years in England paying more attention to TV ads than shows, later parlaying this interest into a career in advertising. A move to Melbourne in 2001 saw his work on several Australian and international accounts garner recognition from D&AD, One Show, MADC, Caples, London International Awards, AWARD, Clio, Cannes Lions and ADMA.

As Group Creative Heads Dan and Tim will develop campaigns, collaborate with clients, and inspire and mentor staff within the redhanded Creative Department.

Dan said he was looking forward to doing some amazing work at redhanded.

“There are lots of opportunities in the rural and regional category and we’re enthusiastic about creating some really remarkable work,” Dan said.

Tim said he was excited about applying his skills to the rural and regional category.

“We’re looking forward to achieving great things. Ideas that can’t be ignored. Ideas that clients and the agency are proud to be associated with,” Tim said.

Contact Communications Lead Saskia Pickles.  Ph: 03 9429 2870 Email: saskia@redhanded.com.au

Nufarm have been shortlisted for two Agrow Awards. Photo: Agrow Awards

A shark out of water and a ‘glug-less’ pouring container have helped Nufarm become the first Australian manufacturer to be shortlisted in global crop protection industry accolades, the Agrow Awards.

Editor in Chief of Agrow, Sanjiv Rana congratulated Nufarm Australia on being nominated in two categories, Best Marketing Campaign for Roundup Attack with iQ inside and Best Packaging Innovation for QuikPour.

“I am delighted to confirm that yes, Nufarm Australia, are the first Australian company to be shortlisted for an award at the Agrow Awards this year,” Mr Rana said.

“This is a great achievement and recognition of Nufarm’s investment in these two products, which deliver innovative and effective solutions to the Australian agriculture industry,” Nufarm Australia Marketing Communications Manager Megan Beange said.

Roundup Attack with iQ inside is Nufarm’s latest development, which has the most extensive glyphosate label on the market, delivering faster brownout, better final control and the power to kill even the toughest weeds.

redhanded Communications Group collaborated with Nufarm in the years proceeding the launch of Roundup Attack with iQ inside to guide the naming, identity and creative execution of the marketing campaign.

Using customer insight derived from qualitative research and extensive strategic planning, redhanded positioned Roundup Attack with iQ inside as the only glyphosate for complete kill, rendering it the ‘Ultimate Killing Machine’.

Brand awareness and audience engagement of this ultimate killing machine as a Jaws-like great white shark terrorising weeds was facilitated through a three-stage campaign that integrated print, radio, TV, online, PR, events, in-store display and social media.

As a premium glyphosate product, Roundup Attack with iQ inside demanded the same from its media strategy. Premium programming, program integration, premium placements and key timings were created and secured to showcase the cut through creative.

The drama and anticipation of the terrified weeds were brought to life in a TV advertisement launched nationally during the Boxing Day cricket match, following an initial teaser, sent via email and social media, featuring a news broadcast about a grower sighting a mystery predator in crop.

The TV advertisement ran again during the Australian Open tennis championships supported by in-program sponsor billboards, capitalising on key times when growers and customers were likely to be watching the popular sports broadcasts.

The timing of the campaign before the winter crop season allowed growers to consider Roundup Attack with iQ inside before making decisions about which products to buy for summer weed spraying.

In a rural media first, to ensure engagement Over the Top ads were placed on all farmonline websites and regional-specific promotional material of product updates continued to promote the benefits of the ‘ultimate killing machine’ product.

The result was a 20% increase in volume of Roundup Attack with iQ inside sold within the first three months of the campaign, compared to the superseded market leader, Roundup PowerMAX, during the same period a year earlier.

The impact of the great white shark imagery achieved excellent brand awareness, with many distribution customers and growers asking for ‘Shark Roundup’, ‘Attack packs’ and ‘The new Roundup with the shark in it’.

redhanded Communications Group also worked with Nufarm to launch QuikPour and design the packaging artwork for the containers, which were built by Nufarm with key technology partners Scholle Packaging and Visy.

A strong contender in the Best Packaging Innovation category, Nufarm’s QuikPour container was designed as a single-use agricultural chemical container to meets the needs of Nufarm’s total supply chain.

QuikPour is a 15-litre ‘jug in a box’ that features an inner bladder enclosed in an outer carton with a fixed pouring spout.

A promotional video by redhanded demonstrates QuikPour’s unique design which decants 50 per cent faster and use 80 per cent less plastic packaging per litre than a traditional 20-litre plastic drum.

QuikPour doesn’t glug or splash, is easy to carry and open with gloves on, and can be poured with more accuracy, making it safer to use.

In recognition of its benefit to growers and the environment QuikPour has already won several awards in Australia.

These awards include a gold medal in the Innovation category and a silver medal in the Packaging for Industry category at the Australian Packaging Design Awards, as well as the overall Best in Show at the awards presentation dinner.

The Agrow Awards will be presented in London on 7 November.

Morris Salahifar

Morris joins redhanded from Sense Advertising, where he was responsible for producing and developing various digital marketing campaigns, primarily focusing on project work for Sensis.

The newly created position will see Morris continuing on from his previous skillset as a web developer, where he will be working on mobile and web solutions, app development and social and digital marketing campaign work using the latest web technologies and standards.

Morris will also be collaborating with the design and creative team to produce unique and exciting integrated campaigns for the redhanded client base.

redhanded Managing Partner Jim Gall said redhanded was strengthening its position in the rural and regional market as a fully integrated strategic communications specialist with its digital offer at its core.

“Many traditional Advertising Agencies see digital as an afterthought, outsourcing their digital projects purely because they don’t understand it, or have the expertise.

“We’re focused on building the resource in-house to ensure continuity of technique and output, cost control and improved turnaround times for clients,” concluded Jim.

“I am looking forward to working with the creative and talented team at redhanded as the company continues it’s successful forward march in the digital and web spheres,” Morris said.

Redhanded Head of Digital David Rigbye, said Morris’s appointment meant redhanded was well placed to continue delivering a diverse range of digital solutions for clients.

“The addition of Morris working on front-end development and production bolsters our digital team and adds to our overall offering for clients,” David said.

DuPont's Pestbook app allows growers to create their own album of pests and beneficial insects

The free app is available for iPads from the iTunes store and is the first of its kind for the cotton industry.

redhanded Head of Digital, David Rigbye describes Pestbook as “a cutting edge tool for the Australian Cotton industry. We wanted to create a solution that addresses a need for Australian cotton growers and consultants that also generated return usage, while addressing the fundamental user experience requirements of digital applications.”

When a user takes a photo of a pest or beneficial insect in crop using their camera enabled iPad, Pestbook records the time, date, location coordinates, temperature, wind direction, wind speed and humidity the moment the photo was taken. This information can then be saved on the iPad or shared with other growers, consultants or the local DuPont Territory Manager via email, facebook or twitter.”

The app also allows growers to create their own photo album of pests and beneficial insects and add personalized comments such as where they saw them, how many they saw and any other relevant information they may require for future reference.

The Pestbook app provides Australian cotton growers and consultants with a comprehensive visual reference of all pests as well as beneficial insects they might encounter in crop, enabling them to be quickly identified.

The Pestbook app was officially revealed at the Australian Cotton Conference held at the Gold Coast from 14 ­ 16 August 2012.

DuPont Crop Protection Market Segment Manager Peter Werbenec said a rapid uptake of iPads and tablets by those working in agriculture encouraged DuPont to make the Pestbook app as a way of supporting the cotton industry.

“DuPont had a concept in mind and redhanded were able to use their expertise to advise and deliver what was possible. redhanded have worked very closely with the DuPont team to deliver a quality product to our specifications and timelines,” Mr Werbenec said.

“Initial feedback has been very positive, with comments from the Cotton Conference about how Pestbook will be an extremely useful educational tool for new agronomists and future growers, and that the album feature will be an easy way to visually communicate about pests found within crops to growers. We are looking forward to getting feedback once growers and consultants have had the chance to use Pestbook throughout the cotton season.”

DuPont plan to roll out the Pestbook app for use on iPhones and android devices in the future, and will improve features based on feedback.

“Cotton is a key segment for DuPont Crop Protection in Australia and this innovative tool shows our commitment to the cotton industry by investing in the latest technology to help support growers and consultants. Pestbook is also a good example of DuPont offering more to our industry than just great products,” Mr Werbenec said.

Click here to download the app