Farmers Edge Comprehensive Case

Storytelling Through Public Relations

Today's most successful brands aren't only those with the best products, but also the ones with the most compelling story (seeChapter10's case, which focuses on brand). But after super consumer brands like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook grab all the headlines, what's left for any kind of B-to-B firm, much less a small precision agronomy firm in Winnipeg? Fortunately, as a B-to-B, Farmers Edge doesn't need, or even want, front-page headlines or lead stories on mainstream television newscasts. Instead it wants earned media through agriculture trade publications and exposure through the blogging and social media streams of agricultural thought leaders. Having said all that, recent investor buzz has landed Farmers Edge in some pretty high-profile publications, fromMIT Technology Reviewto theNew York Times.

"I wasn't quite sure how to prepare for that kind of media reaction," recalls Marina Barnes, the company's vice-president of marketing. "But when you get one of Silicon Valley's biggest investment firms, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers (KPCB), backing you, I guess people take note." KPCB is a heavy hitter in Silicon Valley investment circles, having jumped aboard the likes of Amazon and Twitter before they were household names.

So how did a big-league hitter like KPCB become interested in Farmers Edge? "One of our chief rivals, Precision Planting, had been acquired by a big company with deep pockets," says Farmers Edge CEO Wade Barnes. "We weren't ready to be taken over, nor were we prepared to compete with a massive competitor, so we needed capital fast." And so the Farmers Edge story began to gain traction within high-finance circles. An investment banker was hired to help tell the story, and, in 2014, KPCB came aboard aggressively. "They were looking for a company that had scale, a solid technology portfolio, and a business that was willing to embrace the power of big data. They've helped us craft our vision; they've talked to us about what we need to do with big data and how we need to change the company to adapt to the future."

News spread quickly of KPCB's investment in the little Canadian agro-tech firm, thanks in no small part to the compelling stories coming out of the communications departments of KPCB and Farmers Edge, respectively. "We don't have a huge marketing budget," claims Marina Barnes, "so we have to be resourceful. Strategically written news releases in strategically placed social media take advantage of mass communications, without mass communications costs."

Questions

• This textbook definespublic relationsas "building good relationships with a company's various publics by obtaining favourable publicity, building up a good corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavourable rumours, stories, and events." Who are the publics (stakeholders) involved in this case?
• What is the overall benefit to Farmers Edge (and to KPCB) in aggressively communicating that the two firms have become partners?