Are we missing out on maximising the value of our story telling efforts because of antiquated operating models?

It has been interesting to observe the considerable level of investment made in ‘telling our story’ in recent years. It utilises the latest design-led, consumer centric thinking and enables us to adapt our brands and products to meet the everchanging needs of the consumer.

Or at least that is our belief, right? It appears to me there is a disconnect between the level of investment occurring and the subsequent value being captured. Realised benefit to the country’s food and fibre sector feels incremental at best, and perhaps the cost/benefit curve could be a lot sharper.

It is clear consumers want to understand provenance and have the ability to attribute a product to a place. It is also clear that the value and supply-chain behind a product must be authentic and deliver positive impacts on communities. There is an added layer of complexity when you infuse a set of values to a product offering. Arguably any story tied to a cultural set of norms has a greater level of authenticity associated with it, which in theory further lifts the perceived value of a product.

It reminds me of a saying “in theory, theory and practise are the same”, reality though tells us a different story (pun intended). Let’s look at the level of investment in three pieces, and then the disconnect?

First is that it is immensely helpful to have a dedicated agency such as New Zealand Story helping with deep, rich and insightful research on our most important markets, while working to enhance New Zealand’s reputation. It has added benefits of toolkits, workshops and even the FernMark Licence programme to promote and protect truly New Zealand products.

Second was in 2019 when our Primary Sector Council supported by Minister O’Connor launched the ‘Fit for a Better World” vision using the concept of Taiao. It provides a platform to distinguish products at an entirely new level in the eyes of a consumer, balancing nature’s wellbeing with our own because of cultural principles. Taiao has the potential to differentiate our products to be less imitable by competitors, creating a sustained competitive advantage.

Third is the significant resources made by many organisations on their individual stories, with investment ranging from several million to hundreds of millions per annum. All of these are designed to differentiate and capture value. Arguably, Māori organisations have a higher level of responsibility, as their organisations, brands and products are an extension of themselves, and their tūpuna.

What I am not seeing, or the ‘disconnect’ is that we are missing out on maximising value because it doesn’t appear to induce change in our antiquated operating models, or how we may reassess these?

Do we ask important questions regarding relationships with in-market partners, such as their ability to bring a level of sophistication to pricing? Do we know if our partners are aligned to our vision, or assess their ability to execute on reaching the consumer our stories are designed to meet? Are our partners able to uphold the values and history of our organisations and brands to sell our products in an advantageous way?

How we assess values alignment is without doubt a difficult one. I continue to observe that dramatic value lost by selecting an inadequate or inappropriate partner who is not aligned. It isn’t easy, and not answered by our people going to market for one or two weeks at a time to a myriad of markets, two or three times a year. It requires new methods, new metrics and leveraging every tool in our kete to ‘capture’ as much value as possible that has been ‘created’ by our story telling efforts.

Selecting the right partner will become even more critical in a post Covid-19 world when even visiting markets maybe challenging in the next year or two.

Ngā mihi, nā,

Andrew Watene

Ngāi Tuhoe

Agri Food Sector Driver, Accelerating Exports Lead

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