Company: Storylink Creative, Maple Grove, MN
Company Description: At Storylink Creative, we specialize in crafting engaging brand narratives across various platforms, from exhibits and events to digital experiences. Since 2004, we've created custom environments, live experiences, digital solutions, and everything in between, driving brand engagement and generating measurable results.
Nomination Category: Marketing Campaign Categories - Industry
Nomination Sub Category: Marketing Campaign of the Year - Agricultural / Industrial / Building
 Nomination Title: Sound Agriculture 2024 Trade Show Campaign
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated campaign or program, OR written answers to the questions for this category? CHOOSE ONE:
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
This campaign ran the duration of their 2024 trade show calendar, but the entry will focus specifically on two events: Farm Progress, August 27-29 in Boone, IA; and Commodity Classic, February 28-March 2 in Houston, TX.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 248 words used.
Sound Agriculture came to us looking to up-level their exhibit marketing campaign for 2024. While agriculture-related trade shows are often more about function than form, Sound wanted a highly functional campaign that would be a step above in terms of aesthetics, engagement, technology, and memorability. In short, Sound Agriculture produces a product that enables the roots of crops (such as corn) to better absorb and use nutrients in the soil. By contrast, traditional fertilizers alone actually inhibit the plants from intaking the nutrients that are added to the soil. So by using Sound's additive, you get better yields, healthier soil, and reduced expenses. But how do you sell a salt-of-the-earth farmer on a new, sciency product? After all, most farmers are not chemists or botanists who would fully appreciate geeking out on the science behind the additive. So the solution had to strike a balance between showcasing the surprisingly high-tech product while grounding the experience in the real world of crops and topsoil. Our solution was to add an experiential twist to Sound's existing approach, entertaining farmers while educating them, and making a splash while lodging Sound Ag's key messages in their minds. What we produced for the client was an exhibit inspired more by a hands-on, experiential science museum than a traditional ag-insudstry exhibit. Not only did the resulting campaign check the box of educating and entertaining, it also generated the kind of bottom-line results any farmer would be happy with come harvest time.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 248 words used.
We began by devouring Sound's existing content, as well as all information we could find on the product, how it works, and why it's better than fertilizer alone. Then we focused on the experiences we wanted to populate the space with, rather than beginning with the space itself. The beauty of Sound's additive is that once you get prospects to sit and listen to the science, it kind of sells itself. But a classroom setting wasn't going to cut it, nor was a research paper more dense than a John Deere owner's manual. But what if we could use the trappings of a science museum (the kind that convince kids learning is fun) to sell Sound's exciting new offering? We began concepting engagements such as a live presentation with product experts set in a makeshift cornfield, an interactive VR experience that would take guests below the surface and into the microbiome of the soil, an interactive touchscreen that would help guests calculate their cost savings, a coffee bar that likens Sound's additive with the essential caffein that powers people hoofing it around on the trade show floor. Together with additional displays and engagements, the space started taking shape, inspired by the activity we wanted guests to experience within the Sound space. And with that, a modular exhibit was born, capable of being reconfigured to accommodate any event on the company's marketing calendar, including indoor convention centers and outdoor fields in rural Iowa.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2023. Even if your initiative started before 2023, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2023 only (up to 250 words):
Total 99 words used.
Sound's trade show exhibit improvements had a significant impact on both their revenue and lead generation targets year over year. By enhancing the booth experience and strategically promoting its newest product, Sound saw a 56% increase in the average revenue per order placed at the show. Impressively, 100% of those orders included the newly launched product, which we showcased and promoted directly at the booth. Additionally, Sound doubled the quality leads generated, transforming engagement from just 7% of sales-ready prospects to an impressive 42% — a clear sign of the booth's success in driving targeted interest.
- You have the option to reference here any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 24 words used.
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