SAS 2023
When Safer Farms created the ‘Farm Without Harm’ brand in 2023, the goal was to be seen very differently from organisations like ACC or Worksafe. The safety message needed to come from rural NZ – not from outside it – and deliver realistic, pragmatic advice ‘by farmers, for farmers’.
Our brief was to create a new and distinctive voice for the new entity, and launch it to market.
SAS 2023
Our strategy came from the insight that being respected for their skills and experience was a key motivator for the farmers and workers we needed to reach. In the past, this had been a barrier - due to the attitude that confident, capable experts didn’t need to take precautions.
The goal was to reframe this perception, and use it to our advantage.
SAS 2023
Our core message was designed for distinctiveness and impact. It reframed being ‘safety casual’ as a lack of professionalism... careless, sloppy, and not respecting the workmates, families, suppliers and communities that rely on you. The message was that rural NZ was paying too much of a price, and that ‘all of us’ (including the people working next to you) have had enough.
SAS 2023
We launched with impact, highlighting the overall cost to rural communities of deaths and injuries on farm... and translating it into directly relevant, industry-by-industry examples.
SAS 2023
We also knew that the last thing the campaign needed was ‘clever’ creative devices or overly polished executions. The message wasn’t coming from some Auckland brand agency... it was coming from rural NZ. So the ‘launch video’ was a direct, collective appeal, with intentionally basic production that not only felt grassroots, but delivered huge savings to our limited budget.
SAS 2023
This approach translated through to ongoing content that featured individual farmers’ stories, issues, tips and ‘reckons’ in a direct and unfiltered style. Smart, subtle editing was used to optimise the stories, while keeping the feeling as natural and unforced as possible.
SAS 2023
The core device adapted to reflect the key risk areas that were the focus of the Farm Without Harm strategy.
A series of tactical campaigns addressed different topics... produced ‘conversation starters’ for giveaways and events, and built up a presence at Fieldays, from leveraging partner sites in 2024, to dedicated sites in 2025/ 26.
SAS 2023
With the client’s internal resources growing, we designed a comms framework outlining the key streams of activity that could shape the team’s ongoing social content and messaging. Guide examples and editable templates were produced for every type of activity, allowing material to be produced quickly and cost effectively in platforms such as Canva.
SAS 2023
With the client’s internal resources growing, we designed a comms framework outlining the key streams of activity that could shape the team’s ongoing social content and messaging. Guide examples and editable templates were produced for every type of activity, allowing material to be produced quickly and cost effectively in platforms such as Canva.
SAS 2023
Farm Without Harm’s distinctive voice and ‘by farmers, for farmers’ approach drove cut through in the sector. In 2025, a multi-year partnership with ACC opened up significant new funding to broaden the scale and reach of FWH activity, while still allowing it to maintain it’s grassroots connection with rural NZ.
