Agricultural Retailer Brand Strength Monitor A syndicated farmer survey to measure the brand strength of western

							                     Agricultural Retailer
                     Brand Strength Monitor
                     A syndicated farmer survey to measure the brand strength
                     of western Canadian agricultural retailers and their role in
                     positioning major product brands.


This is the first   This study will provide agricultural product manufacturers and crop input retailers
                    with valuable information about how farmers perceive the various agricultural
industry-wide brand retail channel brands.
survey of its kind
                     Agricultural product manufacturers compete for farmers’ business through brand
since dramatic       positioning, supported by broad communications programs typically promoting
changes have swept   product performance advantages. These programs are ultimately designed to
                     drive the farmer through the retail channel – through someone’s door – to
the western          purchase that manufacturer’s product. The manufacturer strives to support
Canadian retail      retailers in selling its brands to farmers.

channel.             Retail channel brands, on the other hand, compete on a different plane. Brand
                     building at the retail level aims to create farmer preference for specific retailers or
                     dealers – usually based on service, information, relationship, etc. From the largest
                     integrated grain and crop inputs companies to the local independents, retailers
                     strive to create value and a differentiated position in the farmers’ minds, so that
                     farmers will purchase products and services through them. And they strive to
                     create value for suppliers by offering the best connection to the farmer.

                     Over the past five years, we have seen dramatic and fundamental changes in the
                     agricultural retail landscape:

                        Consolidation of major grain companies, with resultant customer dislocation
                        Expanded role for producer-owned inland terminals and established
                         cooperative retailers
                        Acquisition of independent crop input retailers by larger national and
                         international companies
                        Increased spending on agronomic support by some retailers
                        Shifts in crop input financing practices
                        The rise of the internet as a decision tool and its failure as a retail portal

                     These changes have caused farmers to re-evaluate their relationships with
                     retailers. In the changed landscape, how well have retail channel companies
                     responded to changing customer needs? In evolving and enhancing their
                     relationship with the farmer? Who’s doing it right? Who stands out? Is loyalty
                     dead? How do the shrinking numbers of increasingly viable farmers view their
                     retail alternatives?

                     The Agriculture Retailer Brand Strength Monitor is a syndicated farmer
                     survey that will address these issues on behalf of industry subscribers.




                     1   Agricultural Retailer Brand Strength Monitor
                         Blacksheep Strategy Inc. (204) 925-4333
Four things you will learn:
1. What is the relative strength of the retail channel brands that you are
   competing with or selling through? To what extent are retail channel
   brands differentiated, relevant and creating affinity with farmers?

2. On what dimensions do farmers differentiate between retail
   alternatives, and how do these factors influence purchase decisions?
   Do farmers differentiate between brands based on their retail and
   service strategies? Who’s making it work?

3. Who is on the upswing? Which companies are likely to experience
   increased or decreased business based on brand differences? What is
   the trend or direction of farmer thinking about their choices?

4. Is loyalty dead? What is the depth and nature of farmers’
   relationships with the range of retail brand choices that they have?
   Who has retained relationships in the face of internal and industry
   changes?

Benefits to manufacturers
   An “ear to the ground” in understanding what farmers are thinking about their
    retail alternatives, and the direction of their intentions
   Assist in understanding the challenges faced by retailers (in terms of the way
    farmers perceive them)
   Understand the relative strength of the various retail channel brands, to help
    in assessing and developing relationships with retailers/dealers
   Understand how well the supplier’s brand promise is carried through in the
    retail channel

Benefits to retailers
   An efficient opportunity to assess your brand’s position relative to competitors’
    brands from the critical perspective of commercial farmers
   Understand your own brand’s competitive strengths and weaknesses
   Identify threats and opportunities
   Determine specific points of differentiation for your brand, and the resulting
    impact on business intentions
   Obtain unbiased baseline market share statistics for broad product categories




2   Agricultural Retailer Brand Strength Monitor
    Blacksheep Strategy Inc. (204) 925-4333
Details
The survey will be conducted by telephone, with a base sample of 1,000 farmers
with minimum seeded acreage of 640 acres, stratified based on six geographic
splits (North/South Alberta, North/South Saskatchewan, Peace region and
Manitoba). The total sample will be weighted to reflect the distribution of farmers
across the three provinces, while the geographic stratification will allow a
reasonable level of statistical accuracy in looking at geographic splits and smaller
retailers within specific geographies.

On a custom basis, we can:
 Augment the sample in specific geographies
 Design questions to get at issues specific to your company or brand
 Augment the sample to obtain responses from higher numbers of your
   customers or selected target groups

The survey will be fielded in mid to late October.



Deliverables and costing
Full report
A final report will be provided by December 15, 2003, addressing the issues posed
above, and the following:
 Brand strength index and comparisons, visually represented using perceptual
     map, tables and charts
 Brand differentiators and brand levers
 Comparisons, where relevant, across subgroups such as farm size categories,
     broad geographies, retailer type
 Interpretation of study results for the specific brands and companies that are
     included in the survey

Cost:   Before October 1 ......................................................... $ 14,000
        After October 1 ........................................................... $ 16,000

Retailer brand insight module
Geared to small to mid-sized retailers, this would be a custom report for your
company, based on responses related to your company versus all others
(grouped) in your geographic area. Report would include:
 Brand strength analysis of your company
 Frequencies of all questions for your retail versus all others in your geographic
    category (grouped together)

Based on a “bump up” of sample to obtain at least 50 respondents with the
retailer in their consideration set, this would be compared with a 170 sample in
that geographic area.

Cost:   Before October 1 ........................................................... $ 4,500
        After October 1 ............................................................. $ 5,500




3   Agricultural Retailer Brand Strength Monitor
    Blacksheep Strategy Inc. (204) 925-4333
Grain sector insight module
Geared to grain companies with or without interest in the crop input sector, this
would be a custom report based on responses related to your company versus all
others in your geographic area. Report would include:
 Brand strength analysis of your company based on your core business
 Frequencies of all questions for your retail versus all others in your geographic
    category (grouped together)

Based on a “bump up” of sample to obtain at least 50 respondents with the
retailer in their consideration set, this would be compared with a 200 sample in
that geographic area.

Cost:   Before October 1 ........................................................... $ 6,500
        After October 1 ............................................................. $ 7,500

Custom questions
With purchase of the full report, proprietary questions can be added (subject to
limits on the length of the survey).

Closed question, including basic frequencies
and cross-tabs against demographic variables ............................... $ 500

Open-ended question: categorized and coded verbatim
responses, with frequencies and basic cross-tabs,
plus printed categorized verbatim responses ............................... $ 1,500

Sample questions
Closed question:
 Did you attend any seed demonstration site tours this summer? (Yes/No)
 If yes: Which company’s demonstration site tours did you attend? (Multiple
    choice)

The cost of these two closed questions, including frequencies and basic cross-tabs,
would be $1,000.

Open question:
 What would cause you to look around for a new crop protection products
   supplier? (record verbatim, 3 mentions allowed)

The cost of this question would be $1,500

Sample Bump-up
We can increase the sample size for certain geographies, or to capture higher
numbers of certain farmers. Examples:
 Top up the sample within a trading area
 Get a certain number of farmers who have done business at Company X

The cost of a bump-up would be determined based on specifications, and would
include a cost of fielding plus cost of additional analysis and reporting. For more
information on pricing, contact Blacksheep.




4   Agricultural Retailer Brand Strength Monitor
    Blacksheep Strategy Inc. (204) 925-4333
Study Team
Blacksheep Strategy Inc. is a western Canadian strategic marketing consultancy
with offices in Winnipeg and Calgary. Blacksheep delivers consulting expertise in
brand management, with an emphasis on validation and measurement.
Blacksheep’s focus is on western Canada – particularly businesses based in the
west and companies who market to rural Canadians. Blacksheep has a
demonstrated affinity for western Canadian values, culture and markets.

Russell Jeffrey will provide the strategic direction for this study. A partner in
Blacksheep, Russell is responsible for business and marketing strategy. He has 18
years experience in managing marketing, sales and operations for Canada’s
largest agricultural marketer. During this time he built several flagship brands
including Proven Seed and most recently directed operations support and
customer transition during the merger of two of Canada’s largest agricultural firms
into Agricore United.

Lead on our study team is Sharon Barker, Director of Research at Blacksheep.
Sharon led brand foundation and tracking research for Canada’s largest
agricultural retailer brand and its sub-brands through several years of change and
growth. This has resulted in an understanding of farmers’ perspectives of the full
range of retailers, brands and sub-brands that compete for farmers’ business
across western Canada. Sharon’s experience in tracking and analyzing agricultural
brands will ensure that the results are relevant and actionable.

Derrick Coupland leads the brand strategy practice at Blacksheep Strategy Inc.
Derrick’s role will be to provide input into the study design and interpretation of
the results from a brand development and brand management perspective. Prior
to Blacksheep, Derrick was President and a founding partner of Fusion
Communications Group Inc., where he developed brand strategies for agriculture
industry leaders including Agrifinance, Brandt Tractor, Agricore United Financial
and United Grain Growers. Outside of the agriculture industry, Derrick has worked
on brand strategies for companies including CanWest Global, King Optical, BCU
Financial, Salvation Army and Winnipeg Airports Authority.

Terms
All study documentation (e.g. reports, tables, sub-reports and questionnaires) is
confidential and strictly for the internal use of subscribing companies. The contents
of the research documents, and any accompanying materials, may not be
reproduced in any way, or disclosed to any other party, in any manner
whatsoever, without the prior written consent of Blacksheep Strategy Inc.

In the unlikely event of insufficient number of subscribers, the study could be
postponed or cancelled.

50% of study cost is due upon sign-up, and 50% is due upon final delivery of the
report. Early sign up rate applies up to October 1.




5   Agricultural Retailer Brand Strength Monitor
    Blacksheep Strategy Inc. (204) 925-4333