Articles

Idaho Brands Help Sell

Jana M. Kemp

Marketing brands and logos, business brand-names, cattle and livestock brands, and now Idaho co-op brands are a part of the daily experience of business owners and consumers in Idaho. Brands are the recognizable, and hopefully memorable, names, logos, colors, fonts, and styles that symbolize a product, a business or a group of products.

Brands also create a visual reminder of the story, excitement factor, and value of your product. The Nike “Swoosh” is a brand visual that requires no words to tell us who made the product with the “swoosh.” The phrase “Idaho Potato” means something all over the country; it means that the potato was grown in Idaho. And “Florida Orange” tells us where the orange was grown, regardless of which company grew it. What is your business doing to stay on top of your brand marketing and development?

Over the last month, I’ve twice been introduced to the Idaho Preferred™ program sponsored by the Department of Agriculture. The program is a branding project designed to promote and identify Idaho food and agricultural products. The Idaho Preferred logo is meant to be used on agricultural and food products produced in Idaho and sold in consumer as well as business to business situations.

Idaho Preferred participation must meet certain grown-in-Idaho criteria, ranging from 20 to 100 percent depending on the product. The benefit of affiliating with the co-op program is that your products can be part of publicity campaigns, cooperative promotions, product directories, and special promotion activities.

Similarly, Buy Idaho™ has a logo and co-op brand marketing strategy for products of all kinds that a produced in Idaho. Buy Idaho’s team works diligently to spread the word about the great products made right here in Idaho. Buy Idaho also maintains a showroom in downtown Boise that showcases some of the member companies’ products.

Trade and industry associations also have some co-op branding programs. The Wool Growers maintain an office/showroom, and the many agricultural commissions in Idaho also hold conferences and events for ongoing education and story-telling (or marketing) opportunities.

Action Plan: Explore the value of these Idaho organizations for the extension of your company’s marketing efforts.
Buy Idaho™ – Dale Peterson, 343-2582, www.buyidaho.org
Idaho Preferred™ – Peter Mundt, Idaho State Department of Agriculture, 332-8684, www.idahopreferred.com
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Reprint Permission: The author is willing to grant reprint permissions. Please contact Jana Kemp: jana@janakemp.com or call 208-367-1701.