Strolling of the Heifers – 8th Nation

© 2023 8th Nation

Strolling of the Heifers: Digital Marketing and Social Media Strategy

About

From its humble beginnings as an off-beat parade featuring decorated cows marching down Main Street in tiny Brattleboro VT, Strolling of the Heifers has grown over the past 16 years to become one of the largest food system and entrepreneurial non-profits in New England. The Stroll still honors its roots with a beloved festival and parade weekend that draws 100,000 annually to Southern Vermont (including being a favorite and regularly attended event by VT Senator and presidental candidate Bernie Sanders), but the organization has also grown to include multiple components dedicated to supporting family farms, promoting the consumption of local foods, and encouraging entrepreneurship in the farm and food sectors. Just a sampling of these initiatives include: Wyndham Grows, which brings together food system experts for an annual summit, runs an entrepreneur program that mentors aspiring agricultural based businesses as well as a program that trains people from underprivileged communities in agricultural and hospitality related employment; The Localvore Index, which tracks the availability of locally sourced food in each state across the nation; and The Slow Living summit which brings together like minds for a festival centered around the Slow Food Movement.

The Ask

Like many non-profits, Strolling of the Heifer’s small dedicated team is perpetually stretched thin by the day-to-day operations of their many initiatives and putting in the adequate time to define a proper marketing plan is typically an afterthought. As a result, their digital and social media strategy had not kept up with the times and they were losing a huge opportunity to connect with a larger audience beyond their Southern Vermont roots. Realizing they needed to catch up fast and embrace a more modern approach to get the word out about their message to a wider audience, Strolling of the Heifers was ready to revamp their digital and social media strategy from the ground up and 8th Nation (who shares many of Strolling of the Heifers’ agricultural and socially conscious themed values) was honored to pitch in and help define a digital marketing and social media plan that was worthy of the Stroll’s aspiration cause.  

What 8th Nation Did

  • Audited past efforts and implemented a plan on ways to improve digital and marketing strategy with targeted campaigns based on demographic analytics 
  • Develop and execute integrated and multi-channel marketing plans to grow consumer base
  • Create audience generation and engagement strategies and campaigns to increase engagement key industry categories
  • Collaborate with leadership and cross-functional team members to brainstorm, plan, and develop new ideas and strategies
  • Define comprehensive marketing performance framework, including creative reviews, tracking, and optimization of results
  • Craft marketing collateral working closely with the art and brand teams on creative vision, strategy, and creation
  • Grow relationships with industry partners to increase audience through co-marketing and cross-promotion opportunities
  • Defined SEO strategy
  • Launched a calendar of social campaigns to promote featured events
  • Developed customer personas to help guide strategy
  • Implemented Google Keyword strategy
  • Gathered data from Google analytics and finely tuned marketing strategies around findings
  • Improved email campaigns particularly in copy and tracking
  • Improved website issues including Call to Action strategy and fine-tuning registration pages
  • Conducted social media best practice training with the team to ensure a consistent brand voice across all channels

The Results

  • Increased followers across various channels an average of 28% in the first quarter, with a growth of around 10% in the following quarters (ranging from 22-34 percent across various channels)
  • Implemented a successful KPI strategy for upcoming event series by increasing sales by 25% percent over last years numbers
  • Started a White Paper program for Wyndham grows to position themselves as an industry thought-leader
  • Helped produce content for LinkedIn, a platform the company did not previously utilize as a marketing tool, but is now crucial as they have expanded to include more business-oriented programing
  • Expanded email subscriptions by 24% in the first quarter and that number continues to grow
  • Developed an influencer campaign with Vermont state Senator and former US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders ready for launch to promote a new entrepreneur program