Washington Tractor, a 12-store John Deere dealership in Washington state, is taking a different approach to marketing. On Jan. 7, the dealership debuted a three-minute video that focuses on the company’s values and its commitment to its customers. This video kicks off a branding campaign that will ultimately include a series of 14 videos this year. This series is the first part of a 3-year project.
“At the end of the day it’s about our customers and our employees telling their story and communicating our philosophy and our values rather than us saying who we are more aggressively. It’s more authentic,” says Tyler Musson, corporate marketing manager for Washington Tractor.
“Our goal was to use these videos to really share the deep philosophical beliefs of this organization. We believe in honesty, doing what’s right, and helping our neighbors and customers, and we wanted to use this tool to make that strong statement. Those foundational values are held by each member of Washington Tractor, from the founders to the employees, and are shared and appreciated by our customers,” explains Musson.
Washington Tractor’s 12 stores cover a large geographical area and employees from one store may never interact with employees from the stores farthest from them, so the video series is as much about connecting the dealership with its customers as it is about connecting its employees. “The internal purpose is to start to develop a tighter-knit culture that all of our employees and our people can rally around — our mission, vision and values — and that’s communicated through these videos. But they also communicates the same thing to our customer base,” Musson says.
So far, it seems to be working. “The employees love it. I think it’s inspiring them and it makes them proud.”
In total, Washington Tractor will produce 14 videos this year. There will be two brand videos that, Musson says, serve as anchor points. “In between those two we are doing vignettes or short stories that will fill in the gaps on a deeper more personal level, per customer, per demographic, per employee. They take us from mission to vision,” he says.
Topics covered by the other videos include: forage harvesters, drones and precision ag, farm family stories, the importance of having a staff agronomist, technician recruiting and the Washington Tractor heritage (focused on long-term employment with the dealership).
The second video in the series will premier the first week of February, and the entire project will last 3 years. The second series of videos, which Musson is calling “Anchored in Ag,” will highlight the communities Washington Tractor’s stores are based in and will promote the cities and towns, agriculture and farmers. “It’s a way for us to say thank you,” he says.
The video was created and produced by Voortex Productions of Wenatchee, Wash.
In addition to the video series, Musson will be contributing to Farm-Equipment.com, writing about Washington Tractor’s experience producing the videos and the marketing philosophy behind the project.