Inside This Issue
Ag Biz Buzz
Ag Biz Buzz brings
readers something new, interesting or innovative in our industry. This month we feature Advanced Animal Diagnostics (AAD), an R&D company bringing rapid, highly accurate animal diagnostic tests to the farm. AAD’s first farm product will transform blockbuster human technology into a 3-minute cow-side mastitis test to detects even subclinical disease earlier and more reliably. But product innovation isn’t their only news. AAD could highlight a new trend for investment in ag. The company is garnering significant interest in an $8M equity raise. In the words of one venture capitalist, “we like ag because it matches our later-stage strategy and there’s not as much VC focus.” AAD believes the later is changing; we believe it’s a trend to watch.
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Yellow Fail?
Lessons Learned from Marketing Program Firestorm
By LeAnne Philips, Entira
It sounded like a great idea. Make a $100,000 donation to a charity that helps animals, give the program a fun name consistent with your brand, and tie it all together with a social media and point-of-purchase marketing program. A recipe for success, right? But … somehow it all went wrong.
Like many others in agriculture, I’ve been intrigued watching the Yellow Tail wine “Tails for Tails” saga play out. Here are the highlights:
In mid-January, Yellow Tail wine announced its “Tails for Tails” program, in which it would donate $100,000 to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). The program built off the wine’s name and wallaby graphic on its bottle labels.
In late January, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance wrote a letter to the company expressing disappointment in the decision given HSUS stance on animal agriculture and limited financial support of local animal shelters. The Alliance also “tweeted” about the program on Feb. 3.
This Twitter posting started a social media firestorm among animal agriculture supporters and HSUS critics. Within hours, hundreds of people sent their own Twitter postings about the decision, and signed up as “fans” on Yellow Tail’s Facebook page to register their disapproval of the company’s choice to support HSUS. A number of ag organizations and journalists wrote about the issue in newsletters and blog postings. [Read More...]
Chrysler's Roadmap for Agriculture
by Joy Parr Drach, Entira
Yellow Tail and other news seem to have taken the heat off of the car companies — at least temporarily. But as we approach the anniversary of Chrysler’s bankruptcy, it’s amazing to reflect on how far the company fell. Before the company was “merged” with Daimler-Benz in 1998, it was making $1 billion a quarter, held $12 billion in cash, had 4,000 profitable dealers, and was the lowest cost producer and most profitable car company in the world. Fast forward to April of last year. Chrysler filed bankruptcy and, more than $10 billion in government financing later, formed an alliance with Fiat. How did this happen? What does it mean for agribusiness?
The merger that never was
Initially positioned as merger of equals with Daimler-Benz, it became clear that Daimler was in the driver’s seat. Long-time employees who built the company were leaving in droves and the local joke went something like this: “Question: How to you pronounce DaimlerChrysler? Answer: Daimler. The Chrysler is silent.” The company was supposedly led by co-CEOs — one in Stuttgart, Germany, and one in Auburn Hills, Michigan. But the lack of vision and leadership for Chrysler left a void. There was no cultural synergy — imagine the clash between German engineering, formality, layers and structure vs. Chrysler’s renegade image and focus on the market. There was no manufacturing commonality to drive cost savings. And a mere two years before bankruptcy, the US operation was sold to a private equity firm. [Read More...]
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