Communications plan: planting the seed for a new way of thinking.

Uncharted territory, although exciting, can sometimes bring challenges to its pioneers. AVICTA[R] Complete Pak, a first-of-its-kind product, forced the Syngenta marketing team to delve into unfamiliar terrain and Think out of the box to achieve a successful launch.

The launch began with a five-phase communications plan that served as a roadmap for the next 18 months. The campaign featured a slow and strategic release of information--first positioning the brand, then launching the brand name, building excitement, educating and ending with the official launch.

To uncover the best geographies and demographics to market the product, Syngenta called upon Directions Research, a Cincinnati-based market research firm. Directions Research helped Syngenta identify and target the estimated four million acres of cotton infested with nematodes. This sizable market was divided into two segments--those who currently treat the acres for nematodes with competitive products and those who do not currently treat for cotton nematodes but do have pressure in their fields.

"The tagline for AVICTA Complete Pak, Think out of the box, was suggested by our Technical Manager, Dr. David Long, during a branding meeting," says Communications Manager Jodie McClement. "Traditional nematode control methods use hopper boxes to distribute the chemical. AVICTA Complete Pak, which is delivered on the seed, threatens to make those hopper boxes obsolete. We were asking the growers to think beyond their hopper boxes and look to new, more innovative alternatives. Therefore the tagline Think out of the box had a strong double-entendre."

THINKING OUT OF THE BOX

While the tagline was created initially to describe the product, it quickly became the motto for the entire marketing team. Think out of the box, which appeared below the product logo in almost all instances, energized and inspired the marketing team to achieve unique and creative ideas to launch this distinctive product concept. Incorporated into every facet of the launch, thinking out of the box broadened thought processes and reinvented the traditional product introduction. With AVICTA Complete Pak being the first new product choice for nematode control in more than 30 years, Syngenta knew it needed to generate a big splash.

"Building professional relationships and gaining support from nematologists were vital to the success of AVICTA Complete Pak," says Kerry Henderson, Vice President with Gibbs & Soell Public Relations. "To gain professional and technical input, Syngenta held two nematologist summits. These summits were a forum for nematologists to present their research on this product from the very beginning. With their insight, we were able to gain valuable information that contributed to the success of our launch."

SHOWCASE PLOT TOUR

"The timing of the product registration in the first quarter of 2005 gave Syngenta the unique opportunity to get growers and consultants out in numerous fields to see the results of the product on growers' farms," McClement says. "To showcase these grower plots, we embarked on the AVICTA Complete Pak Cotton Belt Road Show in the summer of 2005."

More than 3,000 save-the-date cards and invitations featured the theme "Planting the Seed for a New Way of Thinking." This encouraged a new way of thinking about nematode control and supported the message that AVICTA Complete Pak is a novel alternative to traditional nematode control options.

Print, outdoor, radio and Internet advertisements ran throughout the summer to tease readers about the upcoming availability of the product. The ads, which gradually released more information from June to September 2005, focused on the cotton industry changing forever because of this three-part product. They were very successful, helping secure 68% brand awareness.

While important whenever a new product enters the market, education becomes a necessity when the new product covers an area unfamiliar to many in the industry. "To educate internal Syngenta personnel about nematodes, we enlisted the help of university nematologists and Syngenta technical representatives," McClement says. "Nematodes 101 (a Ph.D. level course) introduced AVICTA Complete Pak to internal personnel and covered the basics of all things nematode-related."

To extend the educational awareness about nematodes and the damage they can cause, Syngenta created an online nematode training module where Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) can earn one continuing education credit by passing a quiz at the end of the module. In addition to the nematode training, there also is a grower-focused online tutorial about the product. Here, anyone can learn how AVICTA Complete Pak works and the advantages it brings to cotton growers.

For education across the board, six separate collateral pieces were developed to highlight the advantages of AVICTA Complete Pak and raise awareness about the problems caused by cotton nematodes. Three product-centric pieces included a technical bulletin, an image brochure and a quick reference guide. For use in the field, nematode identification guides were developed for each of the three major species of cotton nematodes.

THE CREATIVE MESSAGE

When it became time to officially launch the product, Martin | Williams, the Minneapolis-based advertising partner of Syngenta, continued its direct marketing programs with help from Synapse Technology, a North Carolina-based database marketing firm. "One of the most notable direct mail pieces we circulated featured a unique Venetian blind mechanism to deliver a two-part message," says Leigh Thiel, Account Supervisor with Martin | Williams. "Also notable was a highly comprehensive 10-page insert created to offer extensive nematode information and placed in five publications with circulations throughout the Cotton Belt."

To immediately grab the attention of customers and demonstrate the three-part product, a unique, triangular launch kit was developed by Gibbs & Soell with graphical expertise from Signal Design, a graphic design firm with offices in Durham and Wilmington, NC. RSVP Communications, Syngenta's fulfillment house headquartered in Greensboro, NC, distributed the launch kits to key retailers, consultants and Syngenta personnel.

"Every part of the launch kit highlighted the unique concept of AVICTA Complete Pak," says Stephanie Moore, Account Supervisor with Gibbs & Soell Public Relations. "The horizontal image brochure demonstrated a deviation from a traditional way of thinking. We also included a talking news release in the kits mailed to media. This distinctive tactic catered to both print and broadcast media, featuring a traditional media release with pre-recorded interviews for use on the radio."

The AVICTA Complete Pak launch campaign effectively generated awareness and positive publicity for AVICTA Complete Pak and Syngenta. AVICTA Complete Pak was widely promoted by regional and national agricultural media, seized a significant share of the cotton nematode protection market from Temik[R] and far exceeded sales and market share objectives as it was planted on approximately two million acres in its first year of commercial use.

"From beginning to end, the promotional effort for AVICTA Complete Pak has been a fully coordinated, highly dedicated team effort," says McClement. "The results are obvious with the presence of AVICTA Complete Pak in the marketplace after its first year of use. We look forward to what will come next from Syngenta Seed Care."

by Julie Richards, Gibbs & Soell Public Relations

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR HOPPER BOXES?

The idea that hopper boxes will become obsolete with the adoption of AVICTA Complete Pak quickly became a central idea for He advertising campaign. Smartly designed structures "built" with hopper boxes appeared all over the Cotton Belt in print, in billboard advertising and on the Internet. To make the ads especially distinctive, the hopper boxes formed edifices not commonly seen in agriculture publications, such as a bridge. The signature structure, a lighthouse made of bright yellow hopper boxes, appeared in several forms including the cover of the advertorial insert and in various print ads.