• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, March 10, 2012

It’s no news that locally produced foods have greater appeal than ever these days -- an advantage that a New York State dairy co-op brand is looking to leverage to the max with its first integrated campaign, including its first TV spot.

The campaign for Upstate Farms, an area cooperative that is part of the Buffalo-based Upstate Niagara Cooperative, aims to differentiate its milk from non-local competitors by appealing to three growing (and only partially overlapping) demographic segments of moms 25 to 49 in the Buffalo/Rochester DMAs: Those who want to eat local produce; those who want to support the local economy; and those who identify with “rural integrity.”

The campaign, from Cenergy (East Aurora, N.Y.), the agency for the 360+-farm Niagara cooperative, includes: a 30-second TV spot being aired during broadcast news programming and on the CW network; four print ads being run in regional newspapers and “locavore” magazines; a relaunched Web site (UpstateFarms.com); five billboards in urban/highway locations; three flash banners on local news sites and geotargeted “mom” sites; and FSIs.

All elements feature the theme “Return to Values,” accompanied by the tagline “Welcome Back to the Farm,” and all feature members of real farm families (identified by name) expressing straightforward messages about devoting their lives to producing the highest-quality milk. (Plus lots of cows.)

The video footage for the TV spot and videos being featured on the revamped site, as well as all print photography, was shot by Buffalo-based director/photographer Rhea Anna (there was no “production company”) at 13 of the Niagara cooperative’s farms.

The TV ad shows footage of cows grazing in verdant pastures and the farmers going about their daily work, with a voiceover that notes: “You pass our cows every day…on your way to work in the morning, on your way home at night…They’re always there, doing what they do best…and just like you, we spend our days doing what we do best: Making great-tasting milk. Because for our family, it all comes down to the small things: hard work, honest simplicity and the dedication to quality that has endured for generations. Milk is our life’s work.”

The spot ends with the values theme/tagline and a call-out for the Web site.

The site features a feed from Upstate Farms’ Twitter account, as well as a link to its Facebook page, profiles of the farmers, information on their products, and an invitation to attend soon-to-be-announced upcoming educational events.

The print ads bear messaging such as “Our cows work hard for us, so we work our hardest for them,” and “We don’t put anything in our milk tank that we wouldn’t drink ourselves.”