After its launch in 1990, the Cattle Connectionnot only became standard for marketing purebred dairy cattle, it also became very effective for marketing semen and embryos.Our team recently interviewed Tom and Sandy Morris about the Cattle Connection and the voids that publication quickly filled for breeders.
Question: The Cattle Connection took off very quickly. What void did it fill?
Tom: I think it was cheap, with a quick turnaround. Remember, at that time, the glossy magazines had almost a month lead time. We were able to do it in less than a week and get it in the mail. For a sales manager, it was a dream. For a consignment guy, it was a dream. You can’t be that far ahead in planning sometimes. I think that’s what helped propel the
Cattle Connection forward.
Sandy: The other thing that helped us out was, as a sales manager, you didn’t have to run ads in multiple state publications or national publications. It became a one-stop shop as you could put an advertisement in one place. The
Cattle Connection also served all the breeds.
Tom: I also did a little research at some journalism departments. In that era, research indicated if people have a chance between the glossy magazine or newsprint shopper, no matter what industry, readers reached for the shopper first because they were looking for a deal and looking for what was really happening.
At a later point, readers would go back and study the beautiful, glossy publication. From our personal experience,
Cattle Connection customers would get a lot of calls for semen or embryos the day the publication arrived in mailboxes, and then get a second sales bounce when the milk checks arrived in mailboxes.
Editor’s note: Over the upcoming weeks leading up to World Dairy Expo, we will include bonus coverage with Tom and Sandy. Click here to read the full feature from our September 10, 2017 World Dairy Expo supplement titled, “
They’ve seen the show from every angle.”
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(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2017
September 18, 2017
