Takapuna is not known as an agribusiness hub, but tucked away in this suburb on Auckland’s North Shore is New Zealand’s most influential rural marketing agency. NZ Marketing spoke to the team at Hot Mustard about how they stay relevant to our ever-changing agri sector.
The world looks very different to how it did in 1997, when Hot Mustard, this country’s first specialist rural marketing agency, was founded by Paul Bell and Nickie Miles. New Zealand has undergone its own immense changes in that time, and few parts of our economy have experienced more ups and downs than our rural sector.
The pace of change is only increasing, not just for farmers but also in tech, marketing and media, and Hot Mustard is adapting its offering in response to the evolving needs of marketers.
A key component in this evolution is Group Account Director Natalie Allen, who rejoined Hot Mustard last year after first working for the agency nearly 20 years ago.
“It was my first job after graduating from Otago University,” she says. “Nickie and Paul took me under their wing, and I just loved the fast-paced energy of advertising. Back in those days, there was so much print production as the letterbox was the main channel for reaching farmers.”
These days the focus is much more on digital and social media, video content and, of course, measuring performance and ROI. Allen brings significant experience agency-side and in the retail sector, and she sees her learnings from retail as being crucial to what she is doing at Hot Mustard.
“Even though our current clients aren’t necessarily FMCG retail businesses, it’s still ultimately about understanding the customer, and using brand to drive conversion. I’m really enjoying applying those fundamental marketing skills to add value to our client’s business.”
Digital is another big theme of Allen’s CV, and she is using that know-how to help rural clients get better bang for their buck with their campaigns. “We understand the pressures facing sales and marketing teams, and being able to add tangible value is exciting, especially at a time when every marketing dollar needs to be accountable,” says Allen.
“Hot Mustard has always been results oriented, but we’re taking it to the next level with investment in reporting tools that make it simple to see what’s working and what’s not.”
Hot Mustard is no stranger to adapting to new technology and forms of media; as Bell notes, it was the first rural marketing agency in New Zealand to use social media. Mobile phones, which were little more than a novelty when he started the agency back in 1997, are now a major source of media consumption for growers and farmers.
“Over 70% of traffic to our clients’ websites comes from a mobile phone. It’s a big part of day-to-day farm business. They also watch a lot of video content,” he says. “Facebook and YouTube are dominant channels amongst rural audiences as sources of information.”
The way Hot Mustard works with clients to get the message out may have changed, but the things Bell loves about working with the rural sector haven’t.
“When we left Tauranga almost 30 years ago and came to Auckland, we decided to set up an agency specialising in agriculture. I loved the people – the people were amazing, and everything was really down to earth and pragmatic. Most of our clients were outside of Auckland, but I love travelling. So we just travelled all over New Zealand seeing clients, and we still do.”
Bell admits some of his clients started out sceptical when speaking to an Aucklander about rural matters, but he eventually won them over.
“It’s about being genuine, being honest and taking the time to understand their part in that sector and who in that sector they’re actually marketing to, because there are different types of farmers and different sectors of farming.”
One of the things that sets Hot Mustard apart is having dedicated specialists in strategy, creative, content, media and digital all under one roof, with sister businesses Diamond Media (a media buying agency) and Hum Interactive (website creation) bringing additional capabilities.
This also means Hot Mustard is fully accountable and agile, being able to optimise campaign performance quickly. To make things simpler for its clients in the up-and-down rural economy, Hot Mustard doesn’t insist on long-term contracts or retainers.
Bell says: “We believe a true partnership is based on mutual benefit and respect, so every brief is an opportunity to prove our worth.”
Content is king in the digital age, and Hot Mustard is led in this regard by Creative Director Jayson Houghton, who was born and bred on a farm. “Jayson is our ideas engine,” says Allen.
“He’s been with Hot Mustard for over 20 years and has a unique ability to make highly technical and complicated messages simple and meaningful.”
Gone are the days of spending weeks out on farm doing a TV shoot, but Allen says Houghton is ideally suited to the “nimble” era of today.
“Jay’s one of those creatives that just gets it. He’s seen how tech and digital have changed the landscape, and knows the challenge now is to stop the scroll and cut through the noise.”
With Allen on board, Hot Mustard can offer the best of both worlds: rural knowledge and cutting-edge marketing and digital expertise. “We’ve got the experience both in sector and in marketing,” she says. “And we’re also just the right size, so our clients get to work directly with key people in our agency – making us efficient, agile and fully accountable.
Natalie’s top five tips for agri business marketers to survive 2024
1. The initial challenge will be recovering from this deep downturn that has significantly affected the bottom line of most agri businesses. The impact of restructures on product knowledge and continuity will be felt for a few years, so it’s going to be important to keep investing in building people and culture.
2. Keep up a marketing presence so that product is top of mind when the market turns. It is important to maintain your social presence, continue to create engaging content that keeps conversations with customers going, even when there is no appetite to purchase.
3. Be as efficient as possible with media selection, geotargeting where possible. Work out how you want to measure success and be prepared to change if the results don’t deliver.
4. Be nimble enough to capitalise on any opportunities that may arise. The GFC and Covid-19 changed the marketing landscape considerably. I expect this downturn will drive agri marketing further in a digital and social direction, but there will also be big opportunities to stand out and make an impact in other print and broadcast based mediums, as competitors potentially exit long-term partnerships.
5. Stay positive! While it feels more challenging than ever right now, things will improve, and new opportunities will arise. Be ready to shift from maintenance to growth mode quickly when it does.
Curious to learn more?
Contact Natalie Allen for a chat: [email protected]; 021 031 4869
hotmustard.co.nz; diamondmedia.co.nz
This was published in our June/July 2024 issue
