When the radio announcer mentioned the sponsors for a special ag broadcast, his list included the Minnesota Farmers Union, the South Dakota Farmers Union and the NDFB. There was a time when the announcer would have said North Dakota Farm Bureau, instead of NDFB. But that was before a rebranding of sorts.
A state Farm Bureau official told me the organization had engaged the services of a marketing consultant, who suggested the change from North Dakota Farm Bureau to NDFB, actually ndfb, for several reasons. The most important reason was people wanted to take advantage of Farm Bureau services, but thought they couldn’t be members because they weren’t farmers. The consultant noted when Future Farmers of America shortened its name to FFA, there was a dramatic increase in non-farm members.
Taking that advice, the North Dakota Farm Bureau nearly always refers to itself now as ndfb. On its website, there are very few mentions of Farm Bureau. The same is true of its promotional materials.
I was reminded of a similar change in branding that occurred about 50 years ago, when the Farmers Union Central Exchange became Cenex, a contraction of Central Exchange. The retail outlets of the Farmers Union Central Exchange carried the name of Farmers Union Oil Company. It’s where our dad bought gas and grease.
A Cenex chief executive told me the name would allow the company to better compete in the world of big business. There was the belief the word “farmers” was alienating potential urban customers. Today, many Cenex customers have no idea of the connection to Farmers Union. Not surprisingly, some of the farm and ranch patrons of Farmers Union gas stations were reluctant to make the change. There was pushback then, and there is some today on the part of the farm organization members who don’t want to see the “farm” reference diminished.
Meanwhile, it’s interesting the North Dakota Farmers Union now has eight East Coast restaurants. “Farmers” is in the name of every restaurant, because the organization believes the reference to producers makes the restaurant more desirable to urban customers.
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Al Gustin is a retired farm broadcaster, active rancher and a member of Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative.
