‘96%’ campaign resumes in January

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Farm Families’ “We Are the 96%” campaign will resume paid advertising opportunities in January and February, concluding with a Super Bowl commercial for Illinois audiences on Feb. 11.

Super Bowl LVIII will mark exactly one year since the campaign began.

The campaign seeks to correct the perception that Illinois farms are owned and operated by corporations. Instead, 96% of the farms in Illinois are owned and operated by families, a number that consumers would place at about 47% according to IFF research.

The latest research also indicates that when non-farmers understand that Illinois farms are owned and operated by families, they are more likely to have trust in farmers and farming practices.

Since February, the campaign has been seen more than 30 million times in Illinois and is the most visited portion of the IFF website at https://watchusgrow.org/ with about 66% of all views.

The 25 featured Illinois farm families have earned 4.46 million impressions on YouTube, 6.13 million impressions on Facebook and Instagram and 4.40 million impressions on television and radio.

In January, the campaign will return to television and connected TV ads, digital ads on social media and Spotify, new partnerships with social media influencers in the Chicagoland area and some innovative new opportunities like billboard ads and placement in movie theaters.

New families and new social media videos have been added on the Illinois Farm Families website.

IFF is a partnership of the Illinois Beef Association, Illinois Corn, Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Pork Producers Association, Illinois Soybean Association and Midwest Dairy that seeks to build trust in farmers and farming by building relationships with nonfarmers in Illinois.