Western Grains Research Foundation

Field Heroes

Situation:
Beneficial insects are an important part of integrated pest management, but there is low awareness of their vital pest control role and their benefits for cropping systems. Canadian entomologists have vast knowledge and research in this area, but they need help getting the message out in a captivating way.

Action:
The Western Grains Research Foundation engaged Synthesis to develop an education campaign targeting agronomists and growers in western Canada. Together, we identified multiple objectives: increase awareness of beneficial insects and the important role they play in pest management; provide tools for growers and agronomists to identify the most common beneficial insects found across Western Canada; increase the likelihood of beneficial insects being considered in production decisions; and create a platform for entomologists to share their knowledge with growers and agronomists.

Results:
“Not all heroes wear capes” is the creative idea behind the “Field Heroes” campaign. The overall look and feel of the campaign is to celebrate beneficial insects as superheroes in our fields – controlling insect pests at no cost to growers.

The annual integrated communications campaign includes a website full of resources such as scouting guides and videos, advertising, trade show materials, shirts, sweep-nets and an active social media account that has created a Field Heroes community. The campaign was recognized at the Best of CAMA awards with a win in the Issues Management category in 2017 and runner-up in 2018.