Marketing Real Food

Guest post by Harry Greenfield, Oxford Real Farming Conference

Most people don't fully understand the negative impact the food they eat has on the planet. The Oxford Real Farming Conference exists to support those who are tackling this often ignored issue. And with the help of marketing volunteer Aliya Beissova, the Oxford Real Farming Conference is inspiring farmers with a vision of enlightened farming.

The Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) began in 2010 as a gathering of farmers, researchers, writers and those who love good food: people interested in providing high quality food without destroying the environment in the process. Each year the conference overlaps with the Oxford Farming Conference, an annual meeting of the agricultural establishment that exists largely to maintain the status quo: large scale, intensive, fossil fuel dependent agriculture for trade on the global market.

The ORFC offers an alternative vision of farming designed to feed the world without also destroying it. The focus is on small-scale non-intensive farms providing locally produced food where possible. The Conference brings together large numbers of people who are already fulfilling this vision with others with varying degrees of practical, hands-on experience.

Above is the ORFC 2012 website, see the image below of the new improved 2013 website.

Above is the ORFC 2013 website, showing their strong new branding.

For the 4th Conference in January 2013, the team wanted to raise the profile of the event. In particular one aim was to attract more farmers and give them a glimpse of what enlightened agriculture could offer them. This where Pimp My Cause and Aliya Beissova came in. Aliya’s marketing experience was vital when launching the new ORFC website, designed to put across the ORFC’s message to the online world. Aliya helped produce a site map and design brief which was then presented to a designer. She also helped with search engine optimisation and social media.

Aliya helped pin down the target audience for the conference and the message that the team wanted to express. She also helped come up with ideas for a branding theme that would communicate the ideas and concepts encapsulated by real farming. Her help was invaluable in offering a marketing perspective and encouraging the organisers to think in terms of brands and promotion, which is vital for the aim or reaching out to new participants. The website is up now: http://orfc.org.uk and Aliya is continuing to work with the ORFC team to develop and increase an online presence in the build-up to the conference.