Farmlander magazine relaunch

Farmlands Co-operative is the largest buying group of its kind in New Zealand, helping farmers get better deals through its nationwide network of stores and through Farmlands Card Partners around the country. Farmlands came to SCG for help revamping its shareholder magazine The Farmlander, following feedback from farmers that many were not reading it.

Before connecting with SCG, Farmlands had been producing the magazine in-house monthly, with much of it being filled with supplied content. SCG not only took over production of the magazine, but identified key audiences and created a strategy based around specific content pillars.

SCG worked closely with the Farmlands team to relaunch the magazine, now known simply as Farmlander. Key changes included upping its size and production values and switching from a monthly to a quarterly schedule, allowing for a seasonal focus with better planning and more useful information for farmers and growers. SCG utilises its team of in-house writers, freelancers and photographers to create engaging and relevant content each issue, including profiles of Farmlands shareholders, features on important subjects, handy how-to guides with expert advice, and even a recipe page.

The revamped Farmlander has received rave reviews from readers, who enjoy the broad variety of stories and as well as the updated design. Crucial to this success has been the close working relationship between the SCG production team and their Farmlands colleagues, ensuring content is not only relevant to readers but also to Farmlands’ commercial and brand objectives.  

“You could bandy about words like industry knowledge and expertise all day and still not come close to the value the SCG team give to your business. They’re calm under pressure, can easily extend the scope of their remit and have a contact list of contributors and content-makers that’ll immediately make your end-product more desirable.” Ian Turner, Content Specialist, Farmlands Co-operative Society Limited.