FarmOps

New Agri Technology Product Brand

Background

‘FarmOps’ is Munster Bovine’s Farm Operations System, delivered through an app, that simplifies day-to-day farm operations for dairy and beef farmers across Ireland. It is based on the principle of converting data from multiple sources into actions that improve farm sustainability.

By interpreting this data on the farmers behalf, the FarmOps app delivers trusted recommendations based on industry expert analysis, ensuring farmers can focus on tasks of priority at that time. FarmOps allows the farmer to harness the value from their data entered once, by using the app multiple times for effective future decision making, delivering both financial and sustainability benefits.

Brand Objective

To build a brand and develop messaging for an innovative Farm Operations System that will differentiate it from various herd management mobile applications in the Agritech sector.

The Brief

We were tasked to conceive a consumer facing brand name for the app that was short, memorable and easy to pronounce. The name should sound professional and evoke a sense of trusted authority. It should also speak to the customers’ business rather than solely their ‘herd’.

The next step was to develop a Brand Messaging Kit for the FarmOps brand to be used across all written communications.

Finally, the brand identity design had to be consumer facing and visually connect to the Munster Bovine brand in a subtle way.

Strategy

Brand Name Development

When we were brought on board this project, the working name for this product was DST (Decision Support Tool). The stakeholders and our team felt that this wasn’t a suitable consumer facing brand name and that initialised names rarely do well in terms of containing meaning or memory recall.

The concept that drove the naming process for this project was ‘putting the Farmer at the Centre of their Business’. We knew it was important to utilise the word ‘Farm’ in the brand name, as it speaks to the farmer’s business rather than just their ‘herd’. ‘Farm’ also leverages from Munster Bovine’s positioning message ‘Collectively Improving Farm Life’.

It was also important to communicate that Munster Bovine’s new app puts the customer at the centre of their ‘Farm Operations’ i.e. communications, compliance and decision support. For this reason, we investigated the feasibility of using the shorthand for ‘operations’ i.e. ‘Ops’. Ops is a word commonly used to in business functions i.e. DevOps or BizOps and as we want to connect this app to a farmer’s business, it is an appropriate word to use within the brand name.

In Roman mythology, Goddess Ops is a fertility deity who became the patroness of riches, abundance, and prosperity, both on a personal and national level. This mythological story aligned greatly with Munster Bovine’s main revenue stream; Artificial Insemination Services.

Lastly, the fact that Munster Bovine is owned by three of Ireland’s leading Dairy Co-Ops created a positive word association.

For these reasons, we recommended the conjoined brand name ‘FarmOps’.

Brand Categorisation

FarmOps was being incorrectly categorised as another ‘Herd Management App’, but through our research and market analysis, it was seen through a different lens and accepted that the product was much more than an app, it was a customers fully integrated ‘Farm Operations System’ that will be accessible via phone, tablet and desktop devices.

Elevator Pitch

FarmOps is Munster Bovine’s Farm Operations System, developed by our vets and delivered through an app, that recommends the right task at the right time to Dairy and Beef farmers who want to see real progress.

Ireland: is globally recognised for Dairy and Beef farming. Using the word ‘Ireland’, gives Munster Bovine a sense of proprietary ownership within the Irish marketplace.

First: communicates Munster Bovine’s ‘first mover advantage’ with FarmOps, that this is not another ‘me-too’ app product, it is and always will be the first of its kind.

Fully Integrated: it is critical to communicate the fully integrated nature of Munster Bovine’s services and that FarmOp’s integrates them. It also creates the opportunity in the company’s marketing communications to explain what ‘fully integrated’ actually means, allowing FarmOps to cross-sell Munster Bovine’s services.

System: This is not just another app, this is a customers farm operations system. Using the word ‘system’ in the USP reinforces what we want the market refer to it as.

Positioning Message

At the time of project commencement, the positioning message being used was ‘Make Decisions in the Palm of Your Hand’. This message didn’t communicate the true differentiation characteristic of the farm operations system in a simple, memorable and consumer-facing way. After an iterative process, ‘Right Task, Right Time’, was decided upon and approved for the reasons below:

FarmOp’s positioning message needs to be short, catchy and memorable while also communicating its core benefit that farmers will connect with…

Design

Brand Identity Design Criteria

1. The typography and colour was to visually connect the FarmOps app to the corporate brand, Munster Bovine.

2. We required a customised logotype based on the distinctive font style of the corporate brand.

3. Setting FarmOps in ‘title case’ provided better legibility for this conjoined brand name.

Logo, Brand Symbol & Colour Palette

The FarmOps typography is inspired by the signature symbol. The inside curve of the symbol allowed us to create a softer, more ‘tech’ capital ‘F’. The stems of each letter were rounded to match the bottom data point. The Munster Bovine symbol sits adjacent to FarmOps, a nod to the composition of the corporate brand.

Retaining the signature orange symbol was paramount for brand recognition. We wanted to select a ‘FarmOps’ signature colour and set about exploring alternatives to black that would still compliment the signature orange and be on-brand. The FarmOps grey is in the same colour family as black (Munster Bovine’s colour), but has a softer, more customer-facing appeal.

App Avatar

The App’s avatar features the corporate symbol in its signature orange set against a fresh white background.

Brand Guidelines & Activation

The objective of the brand guidelines is to provide recommendations that will ensure the accurate and consistent communication of the FarmOps brand across all touch-points.