Swiss farmers: Solidarity and curiosity due to the new brand presence

The Swiss Farmers’ Union has a new look and, just in time for summer, launched its new presence, claim and a campaign about “Swiss farmers, for you.” The aim is to tell the Swiss people all about the work that the farmers do for them every day. LINK’s task was to provide support for these efforts by conducting a detailed campaign pretest to determine if the external communication’s new focus and design would be able to ensure long-term awareness of and connection to the «Swiss farmer» brand. For the detailed investigation of the public perception of the logo, claim and topic of the campaign, personal discussions (one-on-one interviews) were conducted among heads of households with children. Since they also had a positive perception of and solidarity with the “Swiss farmers” brand, the union’s target group was covered. In addition, the insider’s view of the union’s new presence was reviewed through quantitative online surveys of ambassadors and members of the cantonal farmers’ unions.

Research approach – a combination of outsider’s and insider’s views

This combination of the perception of two groups – the target group and union members – was ideal as the research approach for this project, since it provided insights into the views of outsiders and insiders with regard to the new brand presence. As a result, substantiated recommendations could be made regarding continuing development of the brand.

Twenty-four one-on-one interviews (18 in German-speaking Switzerland and six in French-speaking Switzerland) were conducted with heads of households with children who expressed solidarity with the “Swiss farmers” brand. The interviewees were also a balanced mix with regard to gender, income and living situation. This choice of participants reproduced a specific target group segment that was already determined in 2020 in a study into the image and level of awareness of the union. To also determine the insider’s view, 1,020 members of the Swiss Farmers’ Union were surveyed online.

To investigate the participants’ assessment of the new brand presence, various questions about the new logo, claim and campaign were asked in the personal interviews and online surveys. Of special interest were how the new presence affects the interviewees, whether they feel directly addressed by it and what image of the union it communicates. The research approach, which was developed especially for this project, provided important and significant information for the current and future design of the brand presence, as Bill Bachmann, Research Consultant Qualitative Marketing Research and Project Manager at LINK, explains: “The in-depth interviews with the consumers helped us gather valuable information for the continuing development and positioning of the new campaign and for the new presence of the brand. In a second step, based on the insider’s view from the Swiss farmers in the quantitative online survey, we were also able to identify clear favorites for the campaign launch.”

Direct address as well as sympathy and affinity achieved

The target group of Swiss farmers especially associates this with regional products and sustainability, the result of which is that the topic of the campaign with reference to these areas is better understood and is seen as being very relevant. Most people who were interviewed found the new presence appealing; the claim “for you” addresses them directly and they feel included. The messages and images of the campaign generally successfully communicated closeness to the Swiss farmers; however, content with regard to more complex topics has to be communicated more clearly. Those who took part in the survey also found the new logo and the group of people behind it natural, sustainable, fresh and appealing and the design awakened curiosity among most people. The claim “for you” is successful because it promotes the customer focus and personal contact between farmers and the target group.

The union’s website was also investigated in personal interviews. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the digital presence be refreshed with dynamic images and short, appealing texts.

The generated insights into the insider’s and outsider’s perception of the (new) brand design of the Swiss farmers provided the client with an extensive list of recommendation for the current and future campaigns. Mäggy Stark, project manager of the new brand presence and the campaign “Swiss farmers, for you”, says, “We are very happy with the results of the campaign pre-test. The findings from the interviews were very valuable for the successful development of the new campaign “Swiss farmers, for you”. LINK provided us with very competent advice, took our concerns and wishes into account and implemented the study to our fullest satisfaction. I very much appreciated the successful cooperation.”

With a campaign pre-test, as described in this example, it can be ensured that various advertising materials with different scopes communicate precisely the message that is to be communicated – and if this is not the case, it can be investigated what has to be changed to achieve the desired effect among the target group.

An overview of the study

Method: One-on-one interviews (qualitative) and online surveys (quantitative)

Population: 24 in-depth interviews (18 D-CH and 6 W-CH) with mothers and fathers in German- and French-speaking Switzerland who have a positive attitude towards Swiss farmers (qualitative survey) / 1,020 interviews with farmers and members of the Swiss Farmers’ Union in German- and French-speaking Switzerland (quantitative survey)

Study period: March 7-17, 2022 (qualitative survey) / March 14 to April 8 (quantitative survey)