Future of Agriculture FOA 214: Midan Marketing is a Small Giant in the Meat Industry
Danette Amstein and Michael Uetz are the Principles and Co-Founders of Midan Marketing. Their focus is on being a full-service marketing firm for the meat industry. Both Danette and Michael grew up in agriculture and worked in the National Cattlemen's Beef Association prior to founding Midan Marketing.. Michael specifically worked on identifying “what is the consumer looking for and how do we be responsive to their needs.” They joined forces to create Midan Marketing and further pursue closing the gap between producer and consumer.
“We are working to help our clients rise above all of the clutter that’s in the marketplace, above all the noise so that they can match their products with the consumers out there that are interested in it.” - Danette Amstein
Both Danette and Michael credit a lot of their success to having created and curated a good team of people. The team of Midan Marketing is made up of not only marketing specialists but also a staff that are actively farming and therefore better able to relate to their clients.The indicators they focus on is to “hire humble, hungry and smart.” This has developed into the best system they have found to support the culture they want to foster within the company.
“Our hiring process is long. It isn’t a one and done interview. It’s multiple interviews with multiple people…..so we’re investing heavily in a team member before they’re able to be productive.” - Danette Amstein
They encourage their clients to find their niche and specialization in order to target a specific segment of consumers to grow trust and lead to loyalty. Midan Marketing acknowledges the dynamic evolution of the consumers and their buying habits. They have performed and evaluated studies to go beyond basic metrics for a consumer in order to better identify the best way to communicate and connect with them.
“We not only look at them from a demographics perspective, but we ask them about their attitudes, their perceptions, their behaviors and ultimately what drives them to purchase.” - Michael Uetz
In the time of Covid-19, their models and strategies have had to be adjusted to better facilitate communication with consumers in an uncertain environment.They have observed “almost chaos with (the) consumer base” leading to changes in behavior and buying habits. They encourage producers at any point in the food supply chain to pay attention to consumer research.
“We all have to pay attention to the consumer and their crazy whims as they have them because that’s ultimately where the paycheck comes from.” Danette Amstein
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Meet Midan Marketing Co-Founders Danette Amstein and Michael Uetz
- Explore the value of understanding consumer buying products at every level of meat production
- Learn about the impact Covid-19 has had on the agriculture marketing industry
Founder Spotlight: Jordan Phasey of Phinite
- Phinite prevents water pollution and provides another revenue source for farmers in the place of persistent expense regarding manure management
- Currently, most farmers spend money to manage their manure disposal, especially on hog farms due to long drying processes and an ever increasing supply
- Through a natural process generated by the creation of a controlled wetland, the manure is dried and converted into a marketable concentrated fertilizer
“We’ve been able to reduce the cost of drying pig manure by more than 90%. Operation of the system is simple. The farmer pumps waste out of the lagoon and into the wetland. The wetland itself has no moving parts and instead plants in the system grow their roots out through the material and dry it out naturally…..the final material is suitable for marketing directly as fertilizer”
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