ZimmComm – New Media, LLC

It’s hard to believe we’re half way through July and we haven’t updated you on all the things we’ve been doing. Could be because we’ve been doing a lot. So I’ve got more updating to do. But let’s just focus on a big announcement we made last week. It’s a project we’re doing for New Holland. Here’s the details.

Announcing the New Holland Boomer™ 555 Contest. Eight lucky winners will receive a 5-year lease (150-hour per year) on a New Boomer 30 with a 240TLA Loader with the 5-year Boomer Guard5 Limited Warranty. All you have to do is fill out the entry form and describe how you would use a New Holland compact tractor.

You can find out all you need to know, including contest rules and regulations, on the Boomer555.com blog. I’m going to be the Boomer™ 555 Contest blogger throughout this campaign, updating you frequently with announcements and sharing selected entries and feedback from the folks I meet. Yes, that does mean I’ll be out and about. Follow along on Twitter and Facebook too.

Here’s a picture of a Boomer 30. Picture that on your place!

So, let’s learn more about the contest from Doran Herritt, New Holland Brand Marketing Manager. We spoke by phone. Doran says New Holland decided to conduct the Boomer™ 555 Contest as part of their introduction of the new 5 year limited warranty on the new Boomer tractors. The 5′s represent 5 months to enter to win a 5 year lease on a Boomer 30 with a five year warranty. Doran encourages you to think creatively about how you would use a Boomer tractor/loader and enter the contest. Whatever you can dream up is okay. It’s time to get Boomer555 Fever!

You can listen to my conversation with Doran here: Doran Says - Get Boomer555 Fever

If you aren’t familiar with the New Holland Boomer Tractors then learn all about them on the New Holland website.

When it comes to smartphone platforms, our audience is using a mix with iPhone/Android/Blackberry on top. According to the latest ZimmPoll, sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, 32% say they use iPhone, 32% are using Android, 28% are Blackberry lovers. A small minority (5%) said Other and only 3% are using Windows.

We may have to ask that question again later this year since there’s lots of changes coming up in mobile phone carrier systems and phones.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

This year’s National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention was typically good and busy, especially the Trade Talk session. We took photos for NAFB which you can find in our online album. There are already thousands of views. This photo of NAFB Executive Director, Mark Vail is just one of them.

During the convention we conducted interviews with various NAFB members to post onto AgWired. You can learn more about what the organization is doing by following our coverage. The Trade Talk session yielded about 30 interviews with exhibitors. We’re still working on getting those posted on AgWired and other ZimmComm news sites.

I conducted a professional improvement session on new technology for the farm broadcaster and hope it will be a regular session in coming years.

Cindy and I have been to 24 NAFB conventions. Hard to believe but true.

Missouri farmer Kip Cullers proved once again this year that he is the “Super Soybean
Rock Star” by setting yet another world record yield of 160.6 bushels per acre in his contest plot. That beats his old record by about five bushels. This is the third time Kip has set a record and he remains the champion of the world! He is one of only two members in the Missouri Soybean 100 Bushel Club. For those of you not very familiar with soybean farming, an average yield for beans in Missouri is about 40 bushels per acre.

I was thrilled to be able to go and see Kip honored by the governor of Missouri for his accomplishment. His farm is located about 200 miles southwest of ZimmComm World Headquarters, so it was a seven hour round trip, and worth every minute of it. It is always a pleasure to see Kip, his wife Michelle, and their children Noah, Naaman and Narissa. It’s an even greater pleasure to do so at the request of our wonderful client BASF Crop Protection and our very good friend Pat Morrow.

BASF is encouraging people to send congratulations to Kip for his accomplishment on their Facebook page under the Super Soy tab. You can also send congrats by Twitter using the hashtag #supersoy.

View or download photos from Kip’s big announcement here:
Kip Cullers 2010 Soybean Record

The 2010 Export Exchange brought together international buyers and U.S. suppliers of DDGS, an ethanol production by-product that has seen significant growth in consumption and exports in recent years. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association and U.S. Grains Council.

With the support of RFA I was on hand to provide coverage on Domestic Fuel with photos and interviews as well as general session audio. Additional content will be used by both sponsoring organizations on their websites and for other promotional purposes, internal and external.

The World Dairy Expo was a very busy one for Cindy this year. Our coverage on World Dairy Diary was sponsored by Novus International, Charleston Orwig, Alpharma, Arm & Hammer and Novartis Animal Health.

I think Cindy conducted a record number of interviews this year at Expo. She also has photos for you to enjoy.

Thanks to John Deere I got to attend the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY.

The WEG is a very exciting place for horse lovers and just because of the pageantry and varied activities taking place. John Deere held a media reception that included reining demonstrations in their own arena next to their pavilion. They displayed their full line of equipment to the over 1/2 million people who attended the games.

Enjoy some of my photos here.

The ZimmComm team got to work with Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica once again in St. Paul, MN. This was their swine health seminar in advance of the Lehman Swine Conference.

Chuck was photographer and conducted interviews with each of the presenters. These made story posts on AgWired. It was great to work with BCS Communications and BIVI once again.

Our Joanna Schroeder covered the Iowa Corn Fed Game Day activities for the Iowa Corn Growers. This included a couple of local pump promotions in Iowa City, the game day tailgate promotion and the game between Iowa and Iowa State.

Joanna took lots of photos which you can find in two sets: Pump Promotion and Game Day. She posted photos and interviews on both Domestic Fuel and AgWired as well as the Iowa Corn Growers Facebook page.

Working with support from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, I’ve been running a series of interviews on the proposed new rules by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) that would have profound implications for all sectors of the livestock industry. This included attending the joint USDA/DOJ Public Workshop in Ft. Collins, CO. The ongoing series will continue through the public comment period on the rules which ends in late November.

I live streamed the audio from the workshop that was listened to by over 800 different people. I did the same the evening before at an NCBA/NPPC forum on the topic. You can see my event photos here: USDA/DOJ Public Workshop and Forum Photo Album

With NCBA’s support I’ve been able to bring this subject live and via recorded interviews to the public, the industry and to others in the ag media. It’s a good example of how you can use ZimmComm’s multimedia services.