MARKETING
How Land O’Lakes Found a Mission Greater Than Sales

It was a powerful moment. A CNN+ interviewer asks Beth Ford, “What is the purpose of your life?”
She replies: “I hope I will know success by the number of lives I’ve touched. I hope by changing somebody’s story, by helping them succeed – if that’s what my life is and ends up being, that is going to be the best joy of my life.”
Beth is CEO of Land O’Lakes, a farmer-member-owned company with businesses focused on agricultural production and consumer foods, including the famous butter.
She shares with CNN+ what she sees beyond business in that rural landscape: “I cannot tell you how painful it is to watch a family have to struggle or to hear that they’re doing their hardest and to worry how they’re going to feed their own kids.
“Seventy-eight percent of the counties in America that index as food-insecure are in rural America … And it’s just not right. I don’t see why we say it’s someone else’s problem. This is an American issue. It leaves us less secure.”
How did Beth and Land O’Lakes become such fierce advocates for the American farmer? And how did that lead to the CNN+ interview? That story was told by Kim Olson, Land O’Lakes chief communications officer, at Content Marketing World.
Let’s rewind and start from the beginning.
Brand role, brand purpose
While the work in earned media and communications started as soon as Beth was named CEO, it more recently has been amplified and framed in enterprise purpose work led by Chief Marketing Officer Heather Malenshek.
Kim explains: “Less than 1% of the population is involved in agriculture, but 100% of us have to eat. We used to talk about farmers around the dinner table. Someone had an uncle or cousin that was out on the farm. Not anymore.”
Land O’Lakes determined the following:
- Brand belief: Farmers are the entrepreneurs who truly change the world for the better.
- Brand role: Magnify and champion farming’s true potential through relentless cooperation.
- Brand purpose: Put farmers and retailers at the heart of creating a better world.
- Brand impact: Sustainable futures, vibrant rural communities, and safe and plentiful food supply.
Create a persona of the brand
To personalize the brand purpose and make it more tangible, the company created a persona – Maverick Advocate.
Maverick Advocate portrays bravery and resiliency, using its brand voice for good. The character does not destroy a system but makes it better. Kim says Maverick Advocate leads with the kindness and compassion that resilient, kind, and family-oriented farmers appreciate.
Beth, who became the president and CEO in July 2018, in many ways embodies the Maverick Advocate character. A few months after she started, she dined with farmer members who talked about their day-to-day lives. Beth asked how they made use of opportunities for additional economic, educational, and health-care digital resources. To her surprise, the farmers said they often didn’t have opportunities because they don’t have access to internet connectivity.
@LandOLakesInc CEO heard farmers didn’t have access to the internet, prompting the brand’s American Connection Project according to @BethFordLOL via @kim_l_olson @dshiao @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
Further research revealed over 42 million Americans lack access to broadband internet, Kim tells the Content Marketing World crowd.
Land O’Lakes had found its communications platform, closing the digital divide by expanding broadband access.
Develop a multi-year strategy
Kim helped conceive a three-year plan around this digital divide initiative. Beth served as the effort’s primary voice:
The first year focused on building awareness of Beth as the new CEO and the Land O’Lakes brand. The second year centered on driving advocacy for closing the digital divide. Building on the success of years one and two, the third year focused on performance – expanding the strong CEO halo to enterprise and executive influence.
Let’s explore each phase further.
Year 1: Awareness
The awareness phase focused on high-profile speaking events, media opportunities, and op-ed articles, Kim explains. In one of Beth’s first appearances, she spoke at the Economic Club of Chicago. Beth discovered people were receptive to her message and largely didn’t know about the issue.
On the communications side, Kim focused on forming a strong, unified, and consistent message across media placements in local, regional, and national outlets. She says when working with the media, momentum is key. A few initial placements lead to more, usually more high-profile placements.
@LandOLakesInc @kim_l_olson says momentum is key in media placements. That’s what eventually brought CBS’ @60Minutes @LesleyRStahl to them, says @dshiao via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
CBS News correspondent Leslie Stahl heard Beth speak. Her staff contacted Land O’Lakes to invite Beth to appear on 60 Minutes.
Kim worked with Beth to convince the broader leadership team about the opportunity. (After all, a story on 60 Minutes isn’t always that flattering for a company.)
They invited 60 Minutes to a member’s farm in Pennsylvania to see the dairy operation. They involved Land O’Lakes chief technology officer Teddy Bekele to discuss broadband and the digital divide. The team helped 60 Minutes tell the story of what’s happening to farmers in rural America.
The program aired in October 2019 and it was a big success. It generated a lot of awareness and opened the door to more opportunities.
Year two: Advocacy
In year two, Land O’Lakes launched the American Connection Project (ACP) initiative to generate awareness and advocacy to address the digital divide. An ACP policy coalition included 177 companies from multiple industries that all agreed to the importance of broadband access for rural communities.
Joining with the 140+ orgs in the American Connection Project Broadband Coalition, we sent a letter to @POTUS + congressional leaders urging them to invest in broadband to close the #digitaldivide and ensure that we #ConnectAllStudents: https://t.co/E016dlBrZs pic.twitter.com/ldzpVmEjI2
— Common Sense Media (@CommonSense) January 29, 2021
Member organizations include Cleveland Clinic, Microsoft, and Purdue University. In this phase, Land O’Lakes generated notable earned media placements. Sample headlines:
- Land O’Lakes Played Key Role in Securing $65B for Federal Broadband Funding
- Land O’Lakes, Inc. Teams up with Center on Rural Innovation To Launch American Connection Communities
- Wolf Leads Bipartisan Effort in Calling on President, Congressional Leaders To Invest in Broadband Internet Access
These efforts culminated in November 2021, when Beth joined others on the White House lawn when the president signed the historic infrastructure bill:
This is a historic moment for our country, @LandOLakesInc farmer- and member-owners and their communities. Thank you to everyone who worked together on a bipartisan basis to get these critical investments in roads, bridges and #broadband to the President’s desk. pic.twitter.com/g1N8rLPB7L
— Beth Ford (@BethFordLOL) November 15, 2021
Year 3: Action
During the pandemic, broadband access became more essential, heightening the seriousness of the digital divide. The Land O’Lakes team and their members, partners, and the coalition took action. Tina May, Beth’s chief of staff and vice president, rural services, led efforts to expand the American Connection Project.
Many provided free Wi-Fi access to their networks in their parking lots. The American Connection Project members and other Land O’Lakes partners rallied to provide free Wi-Fi access. In all, people could access free Wi-Fi at 3,000 locations.
The action didn’t stop there. The American Connection Project added more initiatives. American Connection Corps brings in young fellows who go back into rural communities to talk about digital connectivity and help workers improve their skills. The fellows also provide planning and consulting to these workers. The first initiative took place in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
Follow-on phase: enterprise-wide expansion
In a follow-on phase, Beth and members of the executive team elevated the collective voice and influence of Land O’Lakes to the broader world of business. Their earned media coverage featured numerous members of the C-suite, with placements in MarketWatch, VentureBeat, National Rural Business Summit, and.
Beth now sits on The Business Roundtable, a nonprofit association eWeek based in Washington, D.C., whose members are chief executive officers of major U.S. companies. Beth has earned coverage in broader business publications, such as Fast Company and TED.
Be the next Land O’Lakes
At first blush, you might think, “This is a great story, but Land O’Lakes is a Fortune 500 company and this doesn’t apply to me.”
But it does. You can apply several things from this story to communications in any-sized company.
Land O’Lakes strategy was about the audience, not sales. How can you help your target audience’s lives?
Land O’Lakes didn’t execute its mission alone. It partnered with over 175 companies to join the cause. What businesses, organizations, and people could help you achieve your audience-focused mission?
The other key to being like Land O’Lakes? Remember, they took over three years to execute it. Create a detailed plan but make sure it’s long-term.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
MARKETING
How Does Success of Your Business Depend on Choosing Type of Native Advertising?

The very first commercial advertisement was shown on TV in 1941. It was only 10 seconds long and had an audience of 4,000 people. However, it became a strong trigger for rapid advertising development. The second half of the 20th century is known as the golden age of advertising until the Internet came to the forefront and entirely transformed the advertising landscape. The first commercial banner appeared in the mid-90s, then it was followed by pop-ups, pay-by-placement and paid-pay-click ads. Companies also started advertising their brands and adding their business logo designs, which contributes to consumer trust and trustworthiness.
The rise of social media in the mid-2000s opened a new dimension for advertising content to be integrated. The marketers were forced to make the ads less intrusive and more organic to attract younger users. This is how native advertising was born. This approach remains a perfect medium for goods and services promotion. Let’s see why and how native ads can become a win-win strategy for your business.
What is native advertising?
When it comes to digital marketing, every marketer talks about native advertising. What is the difference between traditional and native ones? You will not miss basic ads as they are typically promotional and gimmicky, while native advertising naturally blends into the content. The primary purpose of native ads is to create content that resonates with audience expectations and encourages users to perceive it seamlessly and harmoniously.
Simply put, native advertising is a paid media ad that organically aligns with the visual and operational features of the media format in which it appears. The concept is quite straightforward: while people just look through banner ads, they genuinely engage with native ads and read them. You may find a lot of native ads on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – they appear in the form of “in-feed” posts that engage users in search for more stories, opinions, goods and services. This unobtrusive approach turns native ads into a powerful booster for any brand.
How does native advertising benefit your business?
An average Internet user comes across around 10,000 ads a day. But even physically, it is impossible to perceive this amount of information in 24 hours. So, most of them use adblockers, nullifying all efforts of markers. Native ads successfully overcome this digital challenge thanks to their authenticity. And this is not the only advantage of native advertising. How else does your business benefit? Here are just a few major benefits that prove the value of native ads:
Better brand awareness. Native ads contribute to the brand’s visibility. They seamlessly blend into educational, emotional, and visual types of content that can easily become viral. While promotional content typically receives limited shares, users readily share valuable or entertaining content. Consequently, while you incur expenses only for the display of native ads, your audience may go the extra mile by sharing your content and organically promoting your brand or SaaS product at no additional cost.
Increased click-through rates. Native ads can generate a thrilling click-through rate (CTR) primarily because they are meticulously content-adaptable. Thus, native ads become an integral part of the user’s journey without disrupting their browsing experience. Regardless of whether your native advertising campaign is designed to build an audience or drive specific actions, compelling content will always entice users to click through.
Cost-efficient campaign performance. Native advertising proves to be cheaper compared to a traditional ad format. It mainly stems from a higher CTR. Thanks to precise targeting and less customer resistance, native ads allow to bring down cost-per-click.
Native ads are continuously evolving, enabling marketers to experiment with different formats and use them for successful multi-channel campaigns and global reach.
Types of native advertising
Any content can become native advertising as there are no strict format restrictions. For example, it can be an article rating the best fitness applications, an equipment review, or a post by an influencer on a microblog. The same refers to the channels – native ads can be placed on regular websites and social media feeds. Still, some forms tend to be most frequently used.
- In-feed ads. This type of ad appears within the content feed. You have definitely seen such posts on Facebook and Instagram or such videos on TikTok. They look like regular content but are tagged with an advertising label. The user sees these native ads when scrolling the feed on social media platforms.
- Paid search ads. These are native ads that are displayed on the top and bottom of the search engine results page. They always match user’s queries and aim to capture their attention at the moment of a particular search and generate leads and conversions. This type of ad is effective for big search platforms with substantial traffic.
- Recommendation widgets. These come in the form of either texts or images and can be found at the end of the page or on a website’s sidebar. Widgets offer related or intriguing content from either the same publisher or similar sources. This type of native ads is great for retargeting campaigns.
- Sponsored content. This is one of the most popular types of native advertising. Within this format, an advertiser sponsors the creation of an article or content that aligns with the interests and values of the platform’s audience. They can be marked as “sponsored” or “recommended” to help users differentiate them from organic content.
- Influencer Advertising. In this case, advertisers partner with popular bloggers or celebrities to gain the attention and trust of the audience. Influencers integrate a product, service, or event into their content or create custom content that matches their style and topic.
Each of these formats can bring stunning results if your native ads are relevant and provide value to users. Use a creative automation platform like Creatopy to design effective ads for your business.
How to create a workable native ad?
Consider these 5 steps for creating a successful native advertising campaign:
- Define your target audience. Users will always ignore all ads that are not relevant to them. Unwanted ads are frustrating and can even harm your brand. If you run a store for pets, make sure your ads show content that will be interesting for pet owners. Otherwise, the whole campaign will be undermined. Regular market research and data analysis will help you refine your audience and its demographics.
- Set your goals. Each advertising campaign should have a clear-cut objective. Without well-defined goals, it is a waste of money. It is a must to know what you want to achieve – introduce your brand, boost sales or increase your audience.
- Select the proper channels. Now, you need to determine how you will reach out to your customers. Consider displaying ads on social media platforms, targeting search engine result pages (SERPs), distributing paid articles, or utilizing in-ad units on different websites. You may even be able to get creative and use email or SMS in a less salesy and more “native”-feeling way—you can find samples of texts online to help give you ideas. Exploring demand side platforms (DSP) can also bring good results.
- Offer compelling content. Do not underestimate the quality of the content for your native ads. Besides being expertly written, it must ideally match the style and language of the chosen channel,whether you’re promoting professional headshots, pet products, or anything else. The main distinctive feature of native advertising is that it should fit naturally within the natural content.
- Track your campaign. After the launch of native ads, it is crucial to monitor the progress, evaluating the costs spent and results. Use tools that help you gain insights beyond standard KPIs like CTR and CPC. You should get engagement metrics, customer data, campaign data, and third-party activity data for further campaign management.
Key takeaway
Summing up the above, it is time to embrace native advertising if you haven’t done it yet. Native ads seamlessly blend with organic content across various platforms, yielding superior engagement and conversion rates compared to traditional display ads. Marketers are allocating higher budgets to native ads because this format proves to be more and more effective – content that adds value can successfully deal with ad fatigue. Native advertising is experiencing a surge in popularity, and it is to reach its peak. So, do not miss a chance to grow your business with the power of native ads.or you can do digital marketing course from Digital Vidya.
MARKETING
OpenAI’s Drama Should Teach Marketers These 2 Lessons

A week or so ago, the extraordinary drama happening at OpenAI filled news feeds.
No need to get into all the saga’s details, as every publication seems to have covered it. We’re just waiting for someone to put together a video montage scored to the Game of Thrones music.
But as Sam Altman takes back the reigns of the company he helped to found, the existing board begins to disintegrate before your very eyes, and everyone agrees something spooked everybody, a question arises: Should you care?
Does OpenAI’s drama have any demonstrable implications for marketers integrating generative AI into their marketing strategies?
Watch CMI’s chief strategy advisor Robert Rose explain (and give a shoutout to Sutton’s pants rage on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), or keep reading his thoughts:
For those who spent last week figuring out what to put on your holiday table and missed every AI headline, here’s a brief version of what happened. OpenAI – the huge startup and creator of ChatGPT – went through dramatic events. Its board fired the mercurial CEO Sam Altman. Then, the 38-year-old entrepreneur accepted a job at Microsoft but returned to OpenAI a day later.
We won’t give a hot take on what it means for the startup world, board governance, or the tension between AI safety and Silicon Valley capitalism. Rather, we see some interesting things for marketers to put into perspective about how AI should fit into your overall content and marketing plans in the new year.
Robert highlights two takeaways from the OpenAI debacle – a drama that has yet to reach its final chapter: 1. The right structure and governance matters, and 2. Big platforms don’t become antifragile just because they’re big.
Let’s have Robert explain.
The right structure and governance matters
OpenAI’s structure may be key to the drama. OpenAI has a bizarre corporate governance framework. The board of directors controls a nonprofit called OpenAI. That nonprofit created a capped for-profit subsidiary – OpenAI GP LLC. The majority owner of that for-profit is OpenAI Global LLC, another for-profit company. The nonprofit works for the benefit of the world with a for-profit arm.
That seems like an earnest approach, given AI tech’s big and disruptive power. But it provides so many weird governance issues, including that the nonprofit board, which controls everything, has no duty to maximize profit. What could go wrong?
That’s why marketers should know more about the organizations behind the generative AI tools they use or are considering.
First, know your providers of generative AI software and services are all exploring the topics of governance and safety. Microsoft, Google, Anthropic, and others won’t have their internal debates erupt in public fireworks. Still, governance and management of safety over profits remains a big topic for them. You should be aware of how they approach those topics as you license solutions from them.
Second, recognize the productive use of generative AI is a content strategy and governance challenge, not a technology challenge. If you don’t solve the governance and cross-functional uses of the generative AI platforms you buy, you will run into big problems with its cross-functional, cross-siloed use.
Big platforms do not become antifragile just because they’re big
Nicholas Taleb wrote a wonderful book, Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder. It explores how an antifragile structure doesn’t just withstand a shock; it actually improves because of a disruption or shock. It doesn’t just survive a big disruptive event; it gets stronger because of it.
It’s hard to imagine a company the size and scale of OpenAI could self-correct or even disappear tomorrow. But it can and does happen. And unfortunately, too many businesses build their strategies on that rented land.
In OpenAI’s recent case, the for-profit software won the day. But make no bones about that victory; the event wasn’t good for the company. If it bounces back, it won’t be stronger because of the debacle.
With that win on the for-profit side, hundreds, if not thousands, of generative AI startups breathed an audible sigh of relief. But a few moments later, they screamed “pivot” (in their best imitation of Ross from Friends instructing Chandler and Rachel to move a couch.)
They now realize the fragility of their software because it relies on OpenAI’s existence or willingness to provide the software. Imagine what could have happened if the OpenAI board had won their fight and, in the name of safety, simply killed any paid access to the API or the ability to build business models on top of it.
The last two weeks have done nothing to clear the already muddy waters encountered by companies and their plans to integrate generative AI solutions. Going forward, though, think about the issues when acquiring new generative AI software. Ask about how the vendor’s infrastructure is housed and identify the risks involved. And, if OpenAI expands its enterprise capabilities, consider the implications. What extra features will the off-the-shelf solutions provide? Do you need them? Will OpenAI become the Microsoft Office of your AI infrastructure?
Why you should care
With the voluminous media coverage of Open AI’s drama, you likely will see pushback on generative AI. In my social feeds, many marketers say they’re tired of the corporate soap opera that is irrelevant to their work.
They are half right. What Sam said and how Ilya responded, heart emojis, and how much the Twitch guy got for three days of work are fodder for the Netflix series sure to emerge. (Robert’s money is on Michael Cera starring.)
They’re wrong about its relevance to marketing. They must be experiencing attentional bias – paying more attention to some elements of the big event and ignoring others. OpenAI’s struggle is entertaining, no doubt. You’re glued to the drama. But understanding what happened with the events directly relates to your ability to manage similar ones successfully. That’s the part you need to get right.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
MARKETING
The Complete Guide to Becoming an Authentic Thought Leader

Introduce your processes: If you’ve streamlined a particular process, share it. It could be the solution someone else is looking for.
Jump on trends and news: If there’s a hot topic or emerging trend, offer your unique perspective.
Share industry insights: Attended a webinar or podcast that offered valuable insights. Summarize the key takeaways and how they can be applied.
Share your successes: Write about strategies that have worked exceptionally well for you. Your audience will appreciate the proven advice. For example, I shared the process I used to help a former client rank for a keyword with over 2.2 million monthly searches.
Question outdated strategies: If you see a strategy that’s losing steam, suggest alternatives based on your experience and data.
5. Establish communication channels (How)
Once you know who your audience is and what they want to hear, the next step is figuring out how to reach them. Here’s how:
Choose the right platforms: You don’t need to have a presence on every social media platform. Pick two platforms where your audience hangs out and create content for that platform. For example, I’m active on LinkedIn and X because my target audience (SEOs, B2B SaaS, and marketers) is active on these platforms.
Repurpose content: Don’t limit yourself to just one type of content. Consider repurposing your content on Quora, Reddit, or even in webinars and podcasts. This increases your reach and reinforces your message.
Follow Your audience: Go where your audience goes. If they’re active on X, that’s where you should be posting. If they frequent industry webinars, consider becoming a guest on these webinars.
Daily vs. In-depth content: Balance is key. Use social media for daily tips and insights, and reserve your blog for more comprehensive guides and articles.
Network with influencers: Your audience is likely following other experts in the field. Engaging with these influencers puts your content in front of a like-minded audience. I try to spend 30 minutes to an hour daily engaging with content on X and LinkedIn. This is the best way to build a relationship so you’re not a complete stranger when you DM privately.
6. Think of thought leadership as part of your content marketing efforts
As with other content efforts, thought leadership doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It thrives when woven into a cohesive content marketing strategy. By aligning individual authority with your brand, you amplify the credibility of both.
Think of it as top-of-the-funnel content to:
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Build awareness about your brand
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Highlight the problems you solve
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Demonstrate expertise by platforming experts within the company who deliver solutions
Consider the user journey. An individual enters at the top through a social media post, podcast, or blog post. Intrigued, they want to learn more about you and either search your name on Google or social media. If they like what they see, they might visit your website, and if the information fits their needs, they move from passive readers to active prospects in your sales pipeline.
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