I've been thinking, nearly obsessively, about some of the responses and conversation that have ensued since I pitched my Nicole's Farm Project to the folks in my community who organize themselves in a group called One One Straw Society and I've decided to proceed as such I will be making my best effort to make it to their AGM on the 29th January (childcare is always an issue at this point) and I submitted my expression of interest to participate on the Agri Advisory Board at the Sunshine Coast Regional District. With those decisions I have also been tossing around the following thoughts:
1. Conventional media and marketing methods are not going to access a wide enough customer base...Coast Reporter, Coast Cable, etc. It just doesn't resonate with folks anymore. Furthermore, it doesn't matter how many times folks see an ad, if they're taking their kids to soccer games on saturday morning and they are too tired after work on Wednesday evenings, they just aren't going to go to the markets...until it becomes the sexy thing to do.
2. We can not begin to build an economically prosperous local food region without a vision. A clear, progressive, action oriented vision with targets and milestones and it has to resonate with folks who don't want dirt under their nails except for trimming some non edible landscaping hedges and calling it a day in the garden. To see what my vision is:
I'm sure these conversational have already taken place locally in the past. But they need to be brought up to date and expanded on. I'll leave you all with some thoughts on sales and marketing that registered with me from some online content I was reading by Seth Godin last night.
Points of reference:
Only way to get sales is to get talked about
We need to work on communicating emotion
Long term players are the ones that will deliver real value
I remember when I bought used books all too often, I walked into the bookstore and there was always a little brochure on the counter. In it was a list, with map and description, of every used bookstore in the Metro Vancouver area. Specialties and approx. no. of books included.
ReplyDeleteI watch as what appears to be a great little farmer's market built 6 blocks away (to the west of me) in the midst of a heavily condensed residential area, not far from our own little local organic market 3 blocks (to the east) and can't but think that these markets could develop their own network that benefits their consumers.
Produce and breads at our organic market are fresher and even cheaper than Superstore (dairy and canned goods still expensive). Many people just don't know where their nearest market is, but at least in the Langley/Surrey area, going to the market is not only sexy, it is healthy and can be lighter on the wallet.