LONGREACH PLANT BREEDERS

Transforming Grower Behaviours to Secure End Point Royalties

LongReach Plant Breeders is Australia’s leading wheat breeding company and the largest share farmer in the country. Their business relies on End Point Royalties (EPRs); fees that growers pay when they sell their wheat. However, with tens of millions of dollars in unpaid royalties, the future of wheat breeding in Australia was at risk. A creative solution was needed to motivate growers to change their behaviours and meet their contractual obligations.

• READ THE STORY

  Consumer Research
  To understand the underlying issues, we conducted extensive research and interviews with growers, key stakeholders, and grower groups. Our goal was to uncover perceptions of the EPR system, the payment process and growers' understanding of its value.

  We identified several key insights:

  • Lack of Knowledge: Many growers were unaware of what would happen if royalties were not paid. The system was viewed as an "honesty box," despite licensing agreements being in place.

  • Process Confusion: The harvest declaration process was seen as difficult and time-consuming and a large proportion of growers mistakenly believed that EPRs were automatically deducted at grain silos.

  Working closely with LongReach’s General Manager, senior leadership team, legal advisors and local teams, we developed a multi-channel messaging strategy. This strategy targeted growers of varying sizes and levels of understanding. Education was a key component - clearly communicating the consequences of unpaid EPRs and clarifying responsibilities.

  Creative Assets
  Our research revealed a sensitive truth: no farmer was willing to appear on camera to say their neighbours were "cheating the system," despite widespread frustration with non-compliance. To overcome this, we employed creative storytelling techniques:

  • Actors & Emotional Triggers: We used actors to express how farmers who complied with EPR obligations felt about those who did not. By tapping into themes of mateship, loyalty and fairness, we created a compelling narrative that resonated with growers.

  • Trusted Ambassador: We engaged a relatable ambassador to simplify complex information, educate growers and encourage them to reach out to customer service for accurate declarations.

  • Human-Centred Content: We wrote, produced and directed content that addressed these insights, driving both emotional and rational appeals. Additionally, we partnered with one of Australia’s top up-and-coming photographers to capture powerful imagery that supported the campaign.

  Email and Direct Mail
  Leveraging Longreach’s database, over 7,000 growers were identified who may have believed EPRs were deducted automatically, or who failed to accurately declare their harvests. Our direct communications featured:

  • Visually striking imagery

  • Links to education videos

  • Clear, legally grounded messaging tailored to the target audience

  Website
  We created a dedicated landing page and refreshed the entire website to align with the campaign messaging and asset CTAs. The landing pages served as the central hub, providing essential information and tracking campaign engagement. Visitors were directed to these pages through digital ads and direct mail campaigns.

  YouTube and Social Media
  We produced engaging ambassador videos to demystify EPRs and help growers prepare for potential audits. In addition:

  • Videos featured two growers addressing common misconceptions, providing relatable and authentic perspectives.

  • Content was distributed across Longreach’s social channels and boosted through paid media.

  • YouTube served as a platform for longer-form, educational content, while social media focused on driving quick, impactful engagement.

  Initial Results
  The campaign achieved remarkable outcomes within a short timeframe:

  • 2,000+ Phone Calls: The customer service team handled over 2,000 inquiries in the first 4 weeks of the campaign.

  • Immediate Revenue Impact: Small growers alone contributed over $400,000 in adjusted harvest declarations within the first 2 weeks and the campaign helped to drive more than $2.4M in recovered revenue.

  • Engagement Success: Social media and YouTube metrics demonstrated strong audience engagement, with significant reach and interaction.

  Conclusion
  Through deep consumer insights, strategic messaging and creative storytelling, we helped LongReach Plant Breeders shift grower behaviours, drive compliance and secure millions of dollars of critical EPR payments. This campaign not only helped to safeguard the company’s future, but also reinforced its role as a trusted partner in Australia’s wheat industry.

CREATIVE DIRECTION

Brand imagery: Evoke strong emotions with authentic, heroic visuals that reflect the real spirit of the business and the industry. Capture powerful portraits and action shots that resonate.

“Within a month of launching this campaign we had more than 2,000 calls from growers responding to our request for updated information. The inital response exceeded every one of our expectations and the quality of the work Emerger does is amazing. We have now recovered $2.4M of unpaid royalties as a result of running this campaign - we have had a remarkable result!”

— Neil Comben - General Manager

"Gifted" Assets to Australian Crop Breeders (ACB): To strengthen the impact of the EPR campaign, we recognised the importance of securing support from Australian Crop Breeders (ACB). However, ACB indicated they were unable to produce their own campaign assets. In response, LongReach made a strategic decision to "gift" a portion of our campaign assets to ACB. This included a curated selection of six videos featuring growers, while ambassador-focused content remained exclusive to the LongReach brand. By providing ACB with ready-to-use assets, we ensured their involvement, adding industry credibility to the message and amplifying the campaign's reach and seriousness in market.

• Brand DNA Development

  Brand Strategy Workshop

  Over the course of a half day workshop we were able to redefine LongReach’s beliefs, personality traits, purpose and vision to reflect where the company was headed. This process became a celebration of not only the direction the business is steering towards, but also of the people driving it. This workshop and the outcomes gave us the ideal foundation for creatively evaluating the best brand position and creative strategy to bring the business’ refined brand DNA to life. 

  Positioning & Creative Strategy

  We wanted LongReach to stand apart from the traditional “consumer focused” vision of golden wheat fields and harvesters by showing the grit, detail, personalities and hard work that the industry requires to succeed. By sharing LongReach’s beliefs, connection to farming and unique differences as part of our campaign messaging, we connected the people and business to the success of Australian wheat farmers - and the future of Australian wheat farming. 

  Creatively, we used close-up shots, drone footage, periphery work and evidence of the long term relationships/partnerships that drive the business’ success, to stand out from the crowd and capture the hearts and minds of our target market.