Branding the first true turnkey solar solution.
The Challenge
How do you turn skeptical farmers and business owners who have been inundated with sketchy solar salespeople into believers in a truly unique turnkey solution?
The Approach
We leaned heavily into the stories of generational farming and crafted targeted messaging to prove to America’s harvesters that Sun Farmer’s Group is the team that can actually make solar work and save you money.
Empowering all with sustainable, attainable, affordable solar.
Sun Farmer’s Group was founded by sons and daughters of farmers who were all too familiar with the plight of America’s growers. While most people want to do better for the planet, the simple fact was that solar was too expensive to even consider for the average farmer. To make matters worse, implementation was notoriously difficult with regulations that were hard to understand and there was a never ending web of financing solutions and grant opportunities that seemed impossible to leverage.
That’s why Sun Farmer’s Group took everything and put it under one roof, making them the first true turnkey solar solution for businesses and farmers. Finally, farmers had an opportunity to fight back against a growing energy bill that, until recently, had been non-negotiable. But the team at Sun Farmer’s Group still had a mountain to climb. How do they reach an audience that may have already given up on complex solar solutions or maintain a healthy dose of skepticism?
We partnered with their team to do a full rebrand from top to bottom, leaning into American-made messaging, focusing less on the all-too-common “go green” angle and rather told the farmers what they want to hear: Sun Farmer’s Group is here to save you money so that your future generations can flourish on the family farm.
Sun Farmer’s Group was taking something that already existed in several silos and just pulling it in-house. We knew going into it that it was going to be critical that we were able to find those unique selling propositions and make sure farmers and businesses didn’t see them as just another solar installer.
We met with the entire executive team to learn about their stories and the stories of farmers with whom they’ve sat down. Throughout our discovery meetings and team interviews, it became clear to us that American farmers are looking for a solution that saves them money. Sounds simple enough, right?
Since the solar industry is already saturated with several players hitting the ground running, we needed to figure out what the key differentiators were for Sun Farmer’s Group. We found three that we knew we could own all day long.
- True turnkey solar solution. This is the magic that makes Sun Farmer’s Group different from the other installers in the space. They’ve brought all of the experts in-house so that farmers and businesses don’t have to lift a finger. From installation to grant writing, they handle everything.
- Instant energy savings. The energy bill has always been a necessary evil for the American farmer that was just part and parcel of the business. Sun Farmer’s Group moves quickly and seamlessly to take the energy bill and replace it with a reduced flat payment that is eventually eliminated altogether, giving farmers and businesses peace of mind heading into the future.
- We empower farmers who provide for us. Sun Farmer’s Group is a team made up of sons and daughters who lived and worked on American farms. They know the struggles and the stories of the harvesters who make this country great. They are a friendly face at the door, and they truly care about making farmers’ lives easier.
After feeling good about our differentiators, we were able to craft a mission that we knew we could all get behind moving forward into the future.
“To bring energy independence to as many agricultural and commercial partners as possible through American-grown solar.”
And since we all need something to wake up to in the morning, the Sun Farmer’s Group creed served as a rallying cry for the team.
“We are Sun Farmer’s Group. A team of disrupters, dreamers, and innovators on a mission to bring sustainable energy solutions to as many agricultural and commercial partners as possible.
We are the children of farmers. Of builders. Of patriots. Deeply passionate about our past. Steadfast in protecting our future. Always challenging the status quo to make each day better than the last. To empower this generation and the next. To never settle.
We do this through American-harvested energy. By making it accessible and attainable to all, we turn the burden of a bill into the promise of protecting profits through the next great manufacturing innovation. And in doing so, we put power back into the hands of those who provide for us. Cultivating independence, alongside each partner that joins us on our path. Each sunrise bringing us closer towards freedom. One farm. One family. One harvest at a time.”
The messaging for Sun Farmer’s Group needed to be on point and dynamic. Furthermore, we weren’t just trying to reach farmers. That meant that we needed to identify who potential customers were so that we could craft buckets of targeted messaging to each of Sun Farmer’s Group key audiences.
- Farmers
- Processors & Integrators
- Commercial
- Industrial
- Churches, Schools, & Non-profits
- End Consumers
With these audiences in mind, we came up with several key headlines that could be deployed in generic marketing and social efforts that could apply across the board.
- Declare your energy independence.
- Farming the sun to power this generation and the next.
- We’re on a mission to empower every corner of America with renewable energy.
- The clear path to cost-saving renewable energy solutions.
From there, we got specific. Sun Farmer’s Group needed to have hyper-targeted messaging so that they could launch state-specific campaigns to niched industries. Here are a couple from each.
Farmers
- Turn abandoned acres into financial freedom.
- Protecting the future. Preserving the past.
Processors & Integrators
- Your partner to minimize your carbon footprint across America.
- Increase revenue and reduce emissions with the only true turnkey agricultural solar solution.
Commercial
- Powering American business owners by unlocking unrealized profits.
- We’re in the business of empowering the American economy with sustainable energy solutions.
Industrial
- Onboard the accelerated path to your emissions goal realization with our sustainable solar solutions.
- Your emissions goals. Achieved.
Churches, Schools, & Non-profits
- Reallocate existing expenses into mission-oriented programming with sustainable solar solutions.
- Be a force for good in the future of renewable energy.
End Consumers
- This product is powered with sustainable solar.
- American made. American grown. American powered.
With an America first messaging system, it was critical to ensure the logo for Sun Farmer’s Group exuded the spirit of the USA. Classic Americana design anchored the sun and leaf combo that pays homage to the natural beauty of sustainable energy while invoking a feeling of warm nostalgia that begs to go on anything from a trucker hat to a polo shirt.
The typography is bold and unwavering, letting people know that we plan to stand behind what we say and believe in our mission. This was coupled with an extensive color palette that is led by earthy greens and a vibrant yellow and orange to perpetuate the colors of open farmlands where so many of the Sun Farmer’s Group team members spent their formative years. Engaging and invigorating gradients support the color system to telegraph a feeling of constant change and improvement as the team continues to strive toward a better tomorrow for all.
We tied everything together with playful icons and illustrations to be used in marketing materials and infographics as well as a custom-illustrated pattern that could be deployed in both the print and digital spheres to set Sun Farmer’s Group apart with something truly one of a kind and ownable.
Sun Farmer’s Group had plans in the traditional and digital marketing spaces, so we went all in on both. With a client base who still appreciates a firm handshake and a genuine conversation, we know the office stationery and business cards had to be impactful and unforgettable.
In an effort to turn customers into brand ambassadors, the swag couldn’t be an afterthought or something that was easily tossed aside. Adjustable hats and well-made coffee mugs were among several items on the list of must-haves for the Sun Farmer’s Group team, giving them yet another opportunity to send potential clients and newly onboarded ones a token of their appreciation.
With a completely new brand locked and loaded, the website had to be dialed in and easy to use. We designed and developed a custom website that was intentionally created to pique curiosity and encourage customers to get in touch with the team.
Additionally, SEO was a key focus when developing the content strategy for the website. Sun Farmer’s Group needed a way to legitimize themselves as thought leaders in the space and put skeptical minds at ease. A robust blog section packed with useful information and relevant news updates to expand the site’s content and give visitors more chances to land on pages they find interesting. Even better, the blog content rolled seamlessly into their ongoing social strategy.
The solar industry is not a one-size-fits-all game. Each state has different weather patterns, a wide variety of cash crops, and regulations for implementation. This meant that Sun Farmer’s Group had to stay light on their toes and dynamic when launching their campaigns, carefully crafting each line of messaging and using a laser-focused lead generation to ensure their marketing dollars were reaching maximum effectiveness.
Hog farming is a massive industry in the state of Illinois. A whopping $3 billion annually is lost in the United States from heat stress on livestock alone. Solar energy provides relief for the animals, keeping them cooler, happier, and saving the farmers money in the process. With such a niched message and a limited audience, a direct mail campaign made sense. We collaborated with the Sun Farmer’s Group team, using their expertise and their geo-specific lead bank, to design a mailer that spoke directly to the heart of a major issue for Illinois hog farmers and offered the solution.
Staying in Illinois, Sun Farmer’s Group installed a solar solution at Prairie State Tractor. A John Deere retailer and trusted friend of Illinois farmers, the Prairie State team knew they had an opportunity to leverage their sustainable business move and spread the word to their customers about saving money through American-harvested energy. We teamed up with Sun Farmer’s Group and Prairie State Tractor to activate their in-store marketing with kiosks, retractable banners, and partnered digital campaigns and landing pages to highlight the collaboration and to let farmers know that the future of agriculture in Illinois is solar.
