Closing the Gap Between Producers, Consumers

ARLINGTON, Va.Learning how to interact with consumers, specifically online moms, was a central topic at the Animal Agriculture Alliance 12th annual Stakeholders Summit, themed, "Activists at the Door: Protecting Animals, Farms, Food and Consumer Confidence," that began today in Arlington.

The importance of connecting with the consumer was reinforced by Joe Miller's, general counsel for Rose Acre Farms, presentation on how the industry must better understand consumers, rather than the other way around. "The public needs to know they can trust us," he said. "We need to close the gap between a producer and a consumer."

A panel titled, "Demystifying the Blogosphere: How to Engage Online moms," had two influential bloggers, Joanne Bamberger and Sarah Braesch, actively engage with the audience on how to effectively work with moms online. The bloggers, along with David Wescott, director of Digital Strategy at APCO Worldwide, who moderated the panel, agreed that online moms need to be targeted, identifying this demographic as the 'middle ground'. Wescott reiterated to the industry that they must do better at connecting with the 'middle ground,' their consumers.

"Women, your consumers, are getting their information from bloggers that they know and trust," said Bamberger. "There are really good conversational ways to get your message out to that audience, you just need to put in the effort and develop the relationship."