SaskCanola

Spot Blackleg. Stop Blackleg.

Outreach and awareness campaign helps canola growers stop a yield-robbing disease

Situation:
Blackleg is a canola disease that poses a significant risk to yield and profitability. Many producers, however, are not aware of its growing prevalence across the Prairies and do not consider it a great risk. Fortunately, blackleg is a very manageable disease when the right agronomic practices are adopted.

Action:
SaskCanola engaged Synthesis for communications support to help increase awareness of blackleg and to encourage growers to adopt specific production practices to manage the disease. We developed several tactics, including spotblackleg.ca, a postcard, a tradeshow display, videos, print and digital ads as well as social media content.

Results:
The communications campaign featured actionable key messages and a unique creative concept that attracted grower attention to the blackleg issue. The Spot Blackleg campaign was noticed by the agri-marketing industry as well – taking first place in the Issues Management category at the 2018 Best of CAMA awards.