Highlighting Olam Agri’s farmer centricity in the work they do

Case study: Olam Agri

Introduction

Olam Agri is a leader in food, feed and fibre in high-growth emerging markets with proven expertise, processing capabilities and a global origination footprint. With smallholder farmers as one of its main stakeholders in ensuring their various agri commodities are ethically produced and their supply chains are transparent, it was imperative for Olam Agri to narrate their stories and highlight their journey in the ecosystem.

Being an agri company, the interconnectedness with sustainability and climate had to be addressed as well. Spurwing was engaged for a retainer with Olam Agri, to develop a narrative around sustainability communications including decarbonization and regenerative agriculture, build media relations with key thought leaders and amplify their farmer-centric stories on social media.

Challenge

Olam Agri sought an agency well-versed in the agriculture and sustainability industry, with the capacity to uncover compelling stories from both within the company and with relevant stakeholders. These stories would be utilized to showcase Olam Agri’s growth, along with its unwavering commitment to supply chain efficiency, farmer-focused initiatives, and sustainability.
Essential factors for partnering with us included our expertise in the field, a deep understanding of the regional media landscape, and strong content writing skills.

Services

• Strategic counsel & reputation management
• Leadership Voice
• Stakeholder engagement
• Media Relations
• Narrative & Messaging Development
• Distinctive Storytelling
• Performance-driven content

Approach

We had a discussion with Olam Agri’s communications team to identify their strategic priorities in terms of communications to position and launch Olam Agri as a recognizable global brand. Guided by the pillars of performance, people and planet, some of the amplifications and engagements included:

• Building media relationships and strategic engagements: Capitalising on our regional media reach, we built a pipeline of coffee chats with the likes of Reuters, Bloomberg and CNBC to familiarize them to the Olam Agri brand. Following a year of establishing a strong media relationship, we curated media opportunities including AgTechNavigator-Asia and F&B Asia.
• Content creation & social media: To amplify some of Olam Agri’s local initiatives across markets and farmer-centric stories, we curated social media posts and blog articles in diversified formats, featuring both employees and farmers.
• Events: To drum up Olam Agri’s thought leadership, we supported their participation and speaking engagements by identifying key industry events and building of key messages, as well as post-event amplification

Impact

• 4 Media coverages and coffee chats with key publications like F&B Asia, CNBC, Reuters and more in the pipeline
• 19 Social media content pieces to amplify Olam Agri’s key initiatives, farmer stories, and local efforts.