MARKETING of stud cattle has changed dramatically since the Angus breed was introduced to Australia, but The Land has been an avenue for the industry since the start.
Angus promotion began with the standard “choose Aberdeen Angus” advertisements, and for many decades, print media was one of the only options for studs.
That changed with the introduction of Breedplan, the internet and online selling platforms, resulting in Angus studs being able to connect with more clients.
Individual stud marketing programs have shifted to a wider approach, including websites, video marketing, online platforms and social media.
Ben Nevis Angus at Walcha, NSW, has embraced new marketing avenues. The stud began in 1947 after almost 30 years breeding commercial Angus cattle.
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For many years, Bruce Steel and current stud principals, Stu and Erica Halliday, sold privately or through the New England Angus Breeders multi-vendor sale.
However, demand for their yearling bulls increased, and they had their first on-property sale in 2013.
“When we started, we were just trying to get people to buy Angus bulls because back then Angus cattle weren’t so popular, so they united as a group to sell the breed,” Mrs Halliday said.
“Now, we’re competing within the breed, and we need to differentiate ourselves.”
Mrs Halliday does that by telling her story through her website and social media.
“We had our story but nobody knew about it because we hadn’t had an on-property sale. Social media is constantly telling a story, and for us, we’ve also had to educate people about yearling bulls.
“It’s very informal marketing, but when they get to the website, it’s the structured information they want to see – numbers, pedigrees and photos.
“Traditionally, dad had just used print media, and we still need that for our business, but that has changed too.
“Dad had ads with heaps of writing, in different fonts, but now we focus on the photo to lead the audience to our website.
“The post-sale report is also really important to distribute across social media and on the website.”