The Canadian Wheat Board is getting into branding.
That doesn’t mean it will be using a red-hot iron to burn its name into bags of wheat.
Instead, it will try to burn a positive image for Canadian wheat – and the board – into the minds of overseas buyers and domestic clients.
The first step is being taken this summer with the hiring of a director of brand development, who will be responsible for developing a branding strategy and program for the board.
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Deanna Allen, the board’s vice-president of corporate communications, said the point is to put more money into farmers’ pockets.
“We wouldn’t be undertaking any kind of branding exercise in the international arena if we didn’t think it’s going to allow us to sell more of our product or at a higher price or enter a new market that we might not be in,” she said.
“It’s a way of differentiating our product and to the extent that customers will ask for Canadian wheat, it should put us in a position to extract more from the market.”
She said the board has successfully created a positive identity for Canadian wheat in the past, but has now decided to bring in someone with skills that focus directly on branding.
“We have some ideas but not necessarily a plan, so that’s why we’re hiring someone with expertise.”
The idea behind branding is to enable a company to set itself apart from the competition and create customer loyalty.
“You’re trying to build positive associations in people’s minds,” said Barbara Phillips, professor of marketing at the University of Saskatchewan’s college of commerce. “That’s what branding is all about.”
Phillips said branding is a long-term commitment that doesn’t necessarily produce immediate measurable benefits. But if it’s done properly and truthfully, it can pay off.
“The big question is, is it just pure image-making and spin or is it based on a real foundation?”
While the wheat board’s branding strategy has yet to be developed, Allen said it will have two aspects.
- It will build brand value for CWB products sold to foreign buyers, perhaps trading on factors such as Canada’s clean environment, pure water and wide open spaces.
It could also make use of the fact that the board is a farmer-controlled organization, which might appeal to and have value for buyers.
- There will be a program to try and brand the board for domestic stakeholders, including farmers, government and the general public. This is designed to create certain expectations in areas such as customer service and performance and then deliver on them.
A brand is like a promise to a customer, Allen said, and it’s crucial not to break that promise.
She added that the branding program will not be a large-scale advertising campaign overseas for Canadian wheat because the board lacks the resources.
In some cases, foreign customers have done their own branding by promoting the Canadian content of their products, such as doughnuts, pasta and flour.
Allen also rejects the idea that branding will amount to a communications exercise to try to buff up the board’s image at home.
