Blacksheep Strategy measures agricultural retailer brand strength (March 16, 2005)

March 16, 2005 -- Blacksheep Strategy, a Canadian brand and research consultancy, has conducted a comprehensive study of farmers’ views of agricultural retailers to find out how retail brands compare to each other.


Over 1,000 farmers across Western Canada took part in the study, describing what makes each crop protection and fertilizer retailer different and relating the impact these differences would have on their likelihood of doing business at that retailer.


One of the interesting findings of the survey was on the issue of category involvement, which refers to the extent to which people think their retail decisions are important to their business. While just over half consider their choice of crop input retailer to be important, fully one-third indicate that choice of retailer is only ‘somewhat’ or ‘not at all’ important.


“Low levels of category involvement mean customers are more transactional and product-oriented,” says Russell Jeffrey of Blacksheep Strategy. “This situation makes it more difficult for a retailer to build and leverage brand equity.”


When asked which of their retail decisions were most important to them, 22% chose machinery purchases and 15% cited grain marketing decisions. Only 8% cited fertilizer and 4% mentioned chemicals as most important purchase decisions.


“When category involvement is low, farmers do not tend to notice differences between retail brands, making it difficult for retailers to differentiate themselves,” said Jeffrey.


The Agricultural Retailer Brand Strength Monitor is a syndicated farmer study that addresses the nature of relationships between western Canadian crop input retailers and their farmer customers. It involves the application of a model of brand strength and tracks shifts since 2003.


Blacksheep is a strategic consultancy focused on developing focused, relevant and differentiated brands. Blacksheep applies world-class facilitation and research expertise in the areas of brand development, positioning, strategic planning, public relations and customer experience.


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For more information contact:
Russell Jeffrey
(204) 927-9303
rjeffrey@blacksheepstrategy.com