The Agri Food Comms-Cast is back for episode 5 of season 4! This month our host, Catherine Linch, welcomes managing director of Glebe Farm Foods, Rebecca Rayner.

They are most famous in farming circles for taking a hardline stance against multinational Oatly who attempted to sue them over the name and branding of Glebe’s PureOaty oat milk. In this true ‘David and Goliath’ story, Rebecca offers the point of view of the family owned independent, which gained the support and trust of the consumer to not only win the case, but capitalise on the marketing opportunity to give immense leverage to the emerging brand.

Rebecca delves into the farm’s gluten-free oat milk ‘farm to fork’ journey, with growing, milling, processing and marketing all handled directly by the company – a rare thing in today’s often extended supply chains

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk 

In this month’s episode of the Agri Food Comms-Cast, we’re delving into the audio channel of podcasting; two years on from launching the Agri-Food Comms Cast.

Host Catherine Linch welcomes Johann Tasker, chief reporter at Farmers Weekly and co-host of the Farmers Weekly Podcast. Johann joins us to discuss how their podcast is structured and its range of focus, format, and frequency.

Alongside them is marketing director at The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and sustainable marketer Gemma Butler who is also host of the ‘Can Marketing Save the Planet?’ podcast, who explains the role for podcasting within a wider content strategy.

They also explore the techniques for captivating an audience and we even get an insight into some of their favourite podcasts. Definitely worth a listen for anyone considering producing their own podcast.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk 

The Agri-Food Comms Cast was first broadcast on Earth Day 2022, and delves into the opportunity for businesses to engage more proactively with the environment.

In episode three, season four of the podcast, our host, Catherine Linch, is joined by founder of Sustainability Impact Agency, betternotstop, Hannah Cox, who is also a B-Corp Ambassador and B Leader.

They are joined in conversation with inspirational business woman Carmen O’Neal, founder of gin producers, 58 and Co, a Certified B Corporation.

The B Corporation Movement is a certification open to ‘for profit’ companies to undergo a rigorous assessment to show they meet high social and environmental standards, along with transparency and accountability.

Becoming a B-Corp is proven to have a positive impact on business and staff teams, as well as benefiting the environment and wider society.

In the podcast, we ask why businesses choose this path, and how to make the transition authentically – and importantly, avoid ‘greenwashing’. We also explore the communications opportunities for improving internal engagement and how brands can add value and improve customer perception and loyalty.

As a team, Pinstone are excited to begin their B-Corp journey, and look forward to the proactive and positive impact the team can have on society and the climate.

See attached below for more information.

UK B-Corp Performance Research Report November 2020

UK B-Corps performance review

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk 

The Agri-Food Comms Cast delves into the value of ‘asking the audience’ and the approach behind the AHDB’s Shape the Future ballot.

In episode two of season four of the podcast, our host Catherine Linch is joined by Roseanne Thomas, Director of Communications at AHDB.

The Shape the Future ballot provides the opportunity for 100,000 farmers and growers in the UK to have their say and influence where funding is directed.

While knowing your audience and using market research is a staple for the comms industry, It’s the first time in its history that the levy board has ever taken this approach.

We ask if it’s a change that’s needed to AHDB’s activities; or is it more the case that they need to do a better job of reaching out to raise awareness and make what they do more accessible to those that fund them.

We also challenge Roseanne on how the AHDB intends to roll out the findings from the ballot once the results are in.

The Shape the Future ballot intends to help AHDB glean insight into the needs of farmers and growers and aid funding decisions going forward.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk 

The Agri-Food Comms Cast is back with a bang! In the first episode of season four, Catherine Linch delves into the role of different communication platforms, from the ultimate ‘long form’ book to the fast-paced world of social media. In particular, we explore how food and farming topics can present a challenging dialogue between town and country.

Our first guest, journalist, broadcaster, founder of Just Farmers Media Portal and Nuffield Farming Scholar, Anna Jones, joins Catherine to introduce her brand-new book ‘Divide: The Relationship Between Town and Country’.

With the current climate of polarised attitudes to food and farming, it’s easy to have an ‘us and them’ mentality, but Anna’s book aims to break this mindset by demonstrating how both communities have an opportunity to come together for good. This thought-provoking topic encourages us all to find common ground with each other so that we can reap the benefits, socially, politically, and culturally.

We also hear from agri-media professional Emily Davies, who describes herself as a digital storyteller and provides valuable insight on the power and the pitfalls of social media for propelling stories and comms strategies to a wider audience.

This fast-paced comms channel has proven beneficial for many brands seeking to build awareness, but the episode importantly touches on the issues social media users need to be aware of when consuming content on social platforms including biased algorithms and lack of accountability.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk 

A returning sense of normality has been highlighted with the kids heading back for a new school year. So, in keeping with the theme of new beginnings, this special episode of the Agri-Food Comms Cast explores the numerous routes to taking the leap into #AgCareers.

A career in agriculture can entail much more than working on a farm, with the #FarmToFork initiative demonstrating just that. There is a vast range of careers throughout the food supply chain with numerous industries supporting the farming sector such as science, finance, policy and, of course, communications!

Christine Tacon CBE, chair of Red Tractor and the MDS scheme, joins our host Catherine Linch to discuss the wealth of opportunities available to those who want to climb the ag career ladder. These include the well-known MDS graduate scheme. This dedicated two-year programme delivers first-hand experience through diverse work placements to give candidates broader experience and insight into what the sector can offer.

Christine highlights the challenges that agricultural employers are up against when promoting their vacancies to fresh-faced graduates. Many are oblivious to the diversity and dynamism of roles within the agricultural sector. She says big-name brands often take the lead when it comes to graduate employment, due to students’ lack of knowledge about the scope of the sector.

A shining example of how graduates can get ahead in ag, is our second podcast guest. Pinstone account manager and face of NFU campaigns – Ali Parker. Ali gives us an insight into her personal career journey from graduating from The University of Reading, to how the NFU graduate scheme paved the way for her career in comms at Pinstone. Ali is part-way through the Tesco Future Farmer Foundation programme and explains to us how these initiatives have advanced her knowledge of the sector, and encourages others to explore the various routes available.

At Pinstone, we’re passionate about career progression and providing opportunities to climb the career ladder is something that really resonates with us. If you haven’t already, check out our Pinstone Ladder blog series where you can read more about Ali’s journey with Pinstone and the Tesco Future Farmer Foundation scheme.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk 

Episode seven considers the complex communication challenges that Henry Dimbleby was up against when piecing together his National Food Strategy. Catherine Linch is joined by two special guests for the final episode of season two of the Agri-Food Comms Cast to share their insight on this recently launched, comprehensive review.

Communicating information that requires extensive cross-sector knowledge and context can prove problematic and often runs the risk of losing your audiences’ interest. So how did Mr Dimbleby ensure his report was a success?

John Shropshire, chairman of G’s Marketing, was one of the farming representatives on the National Food Strategy advisory board. John joins our host to discuss the process behind the policy influencing report and the role that communication played in pulling together such a comprehensive document.

Acknowledging that farming can often be on the receiving end of bad press, seasoned expert in agricultural communications, Amy Jackson of Oxtale, talks about the challenges of effectively conveying proposed recommendations to audiences that are more likely to be resistant to change.

Amy praises the National Food Strategy for being wholly inclusive by sharing the responsibility for improving our food systems, diet, health and environment. She advises that setting incremental manageable objectives makes meeting targets much more realistic and achievable.

There are some big upcoming changes to farming, but how do we successfully communicate this information? Amy suggests that conveying a consistent message is key and the National Food Strategy does just that, highlighting three key areas of focus: producing food more efficiently, increasing biodiversity and capturing carbon.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk 

In light of the nation’s growing obesity crisis and subsequent pressures on the health service, episode six of season two of the Agri-Food Comms Cast, explores the potential influence that the food industry could initiate by actively marketing healthier food choices.

This month, Catherine Linchis joined by food campaigner and crossbench member of the House of Lords, Baroness Rosie Boycott, and marketing guru and host of the US-based Gooder podcast, Diana Fryc.

Our guests discuss the challenges faced by natural 'straight from the farm' produce when competing against highly processed, cheaply produced food and drink brands. The episode highlights food inequality, as well as calling for greater honesty and balance in how foods are promoted. This is especially true of many well-known brands that boast sizable marketing budgets to promote their frequently nutritionally poor products.

It’s a challenging but important subject with many questions to answer. Do marketing professionals have a responsibility for introducing healthier lifestyle choices through their advertising campaigns? How can we analyse the influence that brands have on Western society’s eating habits and use this to affect change for the better?

This episode explores a range of comms strategies that aim to tackle these difficult issues, while supporting public health policies and initiatives.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk 

Episode five of season two of the Agri Food Comms-Cast welcomes Farmers Guardian and Morrisons to delve into the new, consumer facing #FarmingCAN, a year-long marketing campaign. Creating conversations and strengthening the messages about what British farming can, and does, do for the public beyond producing food for the nation is the bold ambition.

Farmers Guardian’s marketing manager, Hannah Carrick, and head of news and business, Olivia Midgley, join Catherine Linchto discuss how they are structuring the campaign and leveraging the public’s appetite for farm stories that was demonstrated by their annual 24-hour social media blitz #Farm24.

Seeking to reach out to farmers and policy makers, as well as the general public, each month is themed to promote what farming delivers to society, such as tackling climate change; the career opportunities; and the positive impact on our countryside. Celebrity endorsement is promising to dramatically extend the reach.

The campaign is backed by some big names in the agri-food industry and countryside sector who are engaging their audiences and networks. This includes retailer Morrisons.

To round up this month’s episode of the AFCC, Sophie Throup, head of agriculture at Morrisons, explains how they are getting involved and supporting the cementing relationships between consumers and farmers.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk 

The pressures currently facing the red meat sector globally are undeniable, making a strong case for the advocates of British beef production to take on the communications challenge with gusto.

We look at the issue as Great British Beef Week kicks off.

In the latest episode of the Agri-Food Comms Cast, Catherine Linch explores how this traditional sector is challenging some public’ perceptions and setting the record straight about the merits of British beef.

Jilly Greed, farmer and co-founder of Ladies in Beef, discusses this year’s Great British Beef Week (GBBW), a celebratory annual campaign created to promote and champion beef production – from farm to fork.

In the last 11 years, it’s garnered tremendous support from across the industry. This year, GBBW is backed by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), Agriculture, Horticulture and Development Board (AHDB) and Meat Promotion Wales.

With sustainability as the theme for the 2021 event, Jilly believes connecting consumers with food provenance, the farmed countryside and how beef systems can support the environment is key to restoring the public’s affiliation with eating red meat.

This episode also highlights the value of a breadth of communications channels, including popular films like Kiss the Ground and online events like We Eat Balanced and the RABI cookalong, that are spreading positive messages around sustainable farming within the agri-food sector and beyond.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk