Value-Added Conference is March 20 in Brookings, SD
Mar 6, 2007 11:40 AM
Branding, or the benefits of seeing your company and your product through your customer’s eyes, will be one topic at the 2007 South Dakota Value-Added Conference. The event is set for Tuesday, March 20, in the Days Inn in Brookings, with registration at 9:30 am.
Journalist Mikkel Pates of Grand Forks, ND-based Agweek magazine leads off the conference at 10:05 a.m. He’ll discuss a visit he made to France in September 2006 to learn about “geographic indicators.” This is a term of art in trade agreement that offers protection for agricultural and other products which have a special value due to their connection to a particular place and set of practices. Pates will offer a recap of what he saw and reported in France, as well as thoughts about the implications for U.S. farmers in general and farmers in the Dakotas and Minnesota in particular.
At 11:10 a.m., John Seymour-Anderson, creative director for branding and packaging at Minneapolis-based Triangle Park Creative, will emphasize brand development and the benefits it offers for companies. He’ll talk about how to position your product in the marketplace, how to explore and tell the story of your enterprise and your product, and why you should always be listening for customer feedback.
Over the lunch hour, South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture Larry Gabriel will add his own insights on French agriculture from a recent trip.
Afternoon breakout sessions at 1 p.m. and again at 2:10 p.m. will give those attending the conference the chance to take in sessions about product branding; market promotion; and organic farming and marketing.
The conference closes at about 3 pm. A conference schedule with registration information is available online at http://sdaes.sdstate.edu/valueadded/.
Registration is $35 at the door. Sponsors for the 2007 conference include South Dakota State University, the South Dakota Value Added Agriculture Development Center, the South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, the South Dakota Specialty Producers Association, and the Enterprise Institute.
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