7 Minute Read

[May 16, 2023]

For the second time in three years, AKC Marketing was named the Agency of the Year by the Iowa Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) during the 2023 NOVA Awards on May 9.

In addition to being named Agency of the Year, AKC placed in the top three nine times in eight categories, including three first place finishes amongst stiff competition. See the complete awards from the amazing night below.

 


Pivot Bio and AKC Marketing Build Brand Awareness Through “Agri-tainment”

  • First Place – Branding
  • First Place – Integrated Marketing Campaign
  • Third Place – Video

The idea behind Pivot Bio Originals was to create a series of original shows made with the farmer in mind or as we like to call it “Agri-tainment.” Pivot Bio Originals is a collection of seven shows (The Ultimate Farm Truck, The Farmers’ Table, Farm Next and Ag States of America, Rodeo Ready, Money Grab in the Cab and The Nitrogen Dilemma) and required a complete brand build and style guide to bring continuity and cohesiveness to the shows. The shows were massively successful, with more than 115,000 website visitors resulting in more than 6,300 new farmer contacts created.

AKC’s Work on Pivot Bio Originals was also awarded a National First Place award for Audio/Visual Broadcast News at the 2023 Best of NAMA (National Agri-Marketing Association) Awards in April.


 

Lely Calm Roundtable

In 2022, we held our first Calm Roundtable. The Lely Calm automatic calf feeder helps dairy calves get acclimated to self-feeding and getting food when they want, not when the farmer decides.

We utilized a local and personal touch to make the event feel intimate and increase the likelihood of dairy farmers attending, engaging and ultimately purchasing Lely products.

By mixing pre-taped materials with a live roundtable discussion, the event was a great success, with 176 registrants participating daily. We were able to gather 30 new prospects and close more than $1,000,000 worth of deals directly because of the event.


  

Pivot Bio Growers Handbook

  • Second Place – Marketing Communications

Our Growers’ Handbook was crafted to provide a one-stop resource for growers and sales reps about the microbial crop nitrogen products offered by Pivot Bio, as well as the various deals and incentives to help growers make the switch more palatable. The book was well-received by both our client’s sales reps and the growers with whom they worked. Graphic cover for Pivot Bio 2023 Grower Handbook


 

2022 June Dairy Month Social Campaign

 June Dairy Month is a big part of Lely’s strategizing and planning each year. As a dairy industry leader, it is important as a company to create conversation about all things dairy. Education is another big part of June Dairy Month. Our multi-faceted approach to education garnered over 1 million views, tens of thousands of interactions and hundreds of comments and shares on Lely social channels. As far as social media interaction, it was a record-breaking year!

AKC’s Work on Lely’s Jude Dairy Month campaign was also awarded a National First Place award for Social Community Building and Engagement at the 2023 Best of NAMA (National Agri-Marketing Association) Awards in April.


Ultimate Farm Truck Website

  • Second Place - Website

The Ultimate Farm Truck follows the construction and giveaway of the ultimate farm truck. The show stars the cast of the reality television series Diesel Brothers, a show that has aired on the Discovery Channel since 2016 and follows a group of friends in Utah who repair and customize pickup trucks. The Ultimate Farm Truck show and page were designed to capture the attention of farmers, who would then sign up to learn more, be notified when new episodes drop and enter to win the truck. The show resulted in nearly 5,000 new known farmer contacts. Banner image for Ultimate Farm Truck show featuring customized truck


The Ultimate Farm Truck with the Diesel Brothers

The Ultimate Farm Truck, a Pivot Bio Original series, follows the construction and giveaway of the ultimate farm truck. The show stars Diesel Power Gear, the cast of the reality television series Diesel Brothers. 9,896 people signed up to win the truck. This number was largely propelled by organic and paid social media, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google ads. The average cost per result cost across these platforms was $0.21, garnering 26,000 link clicks. Diesel Power Gear also regularly shared content on their feed and stories to an audience of over 1.5 million followers across Facebook and Instagram.


 

The Lely 1948 VIP Experience

The 1948 VIP Experience was a hyper-targeted sales and marketing campaign that would bring contest winners to Pella, Iowa, and experience the new, state-of-the-art Lely Campus. Hands-on training, farm tours and more awaited the winners. When the week wrapped up, a total of 10 sales were directly attributed to the Experience. The sales totaled over $1,000,000 in sales for the company and brought 35 new contacts into the database.

Mock-Up of Lely VIP brochure

See the complete list of winners.

Interested in having the Agency of the Year help you with your marketing needs? Contact us today and you just might see your company's work taking home the hardware at future awards banquets!