Global manufacturer, John Deere, creates ‘Chatterbox’ for its latest crowdsourcing campaign to help lead new product development. Victoria Clarke reports
There’s a strong sense of community and team spirit within the agricultural and construction industries, and its this element that international manufacturer John Deere seized upon in its latest campaign. The ‘You’re on’ campaign focused around the concept of listening to, and celebrating, those who use John Deere equipment, and was created alongside global agency Gyro. John Deere equipment has always been designed by its users, and the campaign’s objective was to reinforce this message, as well as provide the entire industry with a platform to share its voice.
Commenting about the creative idea behind the campaign, manager of advertising and creative at John Deere, Brett Bedard, says, “We asked our agency to help us highlight our promise of simply listening better to customers and we were thrilled when they came to us with the ‘You’re on’ concept because it’s bold and it puts the spotlight squarely on our customers and their insights that drive everything we do.”
The campaign, launched in Q2 this year, specifically targeted owners and operators of earth-moving equipment throughout North America and Canada. It was also driven internally and to John Deere’s dealer network, which provided key input into the campaign more than a year before launch.
Las Vegas launch
The campaign launched at ConExpo 2011, the world’s largest construction show held in Las Vegas. Pre-launch, a dedicated microsite was rolled out providing teaser videos and ads. It featured daily blogs (including video blogs) to help feed the anticipation of the launch and create a buzz.
To officially launch the campaign, John Deere unveiled a mobile production studio called the ‘Chatterbox’ at ConExpo. Resembling a local radio station, the ‘Chatterbox’ provided a space for attendees to discuss their professional and personal lives, and suggest how John Deere could improve on its equipment. Customers watching the event online could also make comments in the booth and booth texting was featured online and in real time. The organisation’s latest machinery was displayed next to the booth, labeled with the ‘You’re on’ message and information about how it was designed by users. During the show, the organisation also hosted a live webcast via its microsite, further extending the campaign’s reach beyond those visitors that were physically able to attend.
Site ambushes
After ConExpo, the Chatterbox was taken to construction sites across the US in what John Deere described as ‘site ambushes’. Supporting advertising for the campaign promoted the ‘designed by users’ theme with images of John Deere machinery next to ordinary users or what the campaign deemed the ‘real experts’. The campaign microsite, featuring a social media aggregator, allowed the brand to monitor activity and sentiment following the launch, and as the Chatterbox toured the country. The ‘You’re on’ microsite also featured user generated video content and a crowdsourcing product ideation tool, which provided customers with a forum to fine tune the design of John Deere machines. Ideas were peer rated and John Deere engineers provided feedback on a regular basis.
John Deere will be celebrating its 175th anniversary next year, and the recent ‘You’re on’ campaign was designed to introduce a raft of global activity, including in the UK and pan Asia, to pre-empt this and help grow the brand. The organisation claims to have received notable attention in the UK for its active listening initiative.
