GB Potatoes has celebrated the creativity of fourth-year students at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) after judging a series of marketing campaigns developed as part of the agricultural communications module within the college’s agricultural degree.
The project challenged students to create a campaign promoting “The Whole Potato” on behalf of GB Potatoes, the industry body representing the entire potato supply chain. The brief followed a guest lecture delivered by agricultural communications specialist Jane Craigie, who shared her experience of developing campaigns for the food and farming sector and introduced the students to the strategic thinking behind effective communications.
The group was tasked with producing short video pitches outlining their campaign objectives, target audiences, communications tactics and a clear call to action. Submissions were judged by GB Potatoes CEO Scott Walker.
Two projects were awarded top prizes of £250 each:
- Best campaign plan: “Ware on Your Plate”, a campaign encouraging consumers to swap processed potato products for fresh potatoes, highlighting benefits for local farmers and consumer health. The concept centred on a social media challenge asking people, particularly under-25s, to cook more whole potatoes at home, supported by simple recipe packs distributed online and to first-time homeowners and university students.
- Best creative concept: “The Potato Love Story”, a light-hearted, animated campaign in which two young potatoes reject the pressure to become crisps, chips or wedges and instead choose to stay whole, using humour and romance to reinforce the campaign’s message about the appeal of the whole, unprocessed potato.
A third entry, “Put the Whole Potato Back at the Heart of British Meals,” received a £100 runner-up prize.
Scott Walker, CEO of GB Potatoes, said: “The students are all very talented, and it was encouraging to see such a range of creative and well-considered campaigns. Promoting the value of the whole potato to modern consumers is a key priority for the sector, particularly as eating habits evolve.
“At the same time, we need to engage the next generation and help them see the opportunities within the industry. This project achieved both, and GB Potatoes was proud to support it.”
Craig Davison, Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead for Agriculture at SRUC, said: “We were thrilled to welcome Jane Craigie from JCM to meet with our students as part of the Agriculture Communications module. By challenging our fourth-year students to develop creative marketing pitches for GB Potatoes, Jane brought the curriculum to life. As this is the first year for this module, seeing our students motivated to engage with wider audiences is incredibly rewarding, and it has exposed them to a wider range of career opportunities within the industry. We are deeply grateful to Jane and the team at GB Potatoes for their faith in the next generation of agricultural communicators, and of course thrilled for the students to be recognised for their fun and touching work of art.”
The team behind “The Potato Love Story”, Josie Hall, Holly Rodger, Euan Pettigrew and Callum Macdonald, said: “It was great to be exposed to the world of agricultural communications with Jane. It definitely opened our eyes to what goes on behind the scenes and has given us food for thought for the future. It was really fun to be part of the GB potato campaign and explore different ideas in advertising, trying to engage the audience while getting the message of the whole potato across.”
The creators of “Ware on Your Plate”, Daniel Norrie, Oliver Nymand and Gillies Boyd added: “Having worked on other potato projects before, it was a really fun process to see a different more creative side to the industry. The win took us all by surprise, but the team was incredibly proud of what we delivered. I hope it inspires more people to bring unprocessed potatoes back into their everyday cooking.”
Jane Craigie, founder and director of Jane Craigie Marketing (JCM), said it had been a pleasure to work with the students. “I hope my time with the group inspired them to consider a career in agricultural communications or journalism, or to use smart storytelling in the marketing whatever businesses they work for. Giving the students something fun that they can learn from, as well as compete for, has been a real pleasure. Their creativity and enthusiasm were really impressive and fantastic to see.”
The winning entries are available to view here, with “The Potato Love Story” celebrated on GB Potatoes’ social media channels on Valentine’s Day.
For more information about GB Potatoes, visit www.gbpotatoes.co.uk.