At Stillwell + Co, we tend to connect with clients that present a familiarity. Livestock & Agriculture feels like home to us. Stillwell + Co CEO and Owner, Krista Stillwell, became familiar with the agriculture industry from growing up in rural Indiana and helping her friends with their 4-H projects. It wasn’t until later in life when her unexpected meeting with future husband Bryan that she realized her life would take a turn toward a deeper love and knowledge of agriculture.

Bryan taught her everything she knows about loving the land. She has come to know the ebbs and flows of life and nature well; most of all, the animals that roam the Indiana land and how the weather can quickly make a difference in production levels. While helping her husband run a farm, Krista grew to know and love livestock culture. She became deeply rooted in applying her knowledge of business and marketing to the gaps in the livestock and agriculture industries. Krista soaked up every opportunity to learn more, strategically assist, and give back to the communities throughout Indiana.

With Krista’s experience in livestock and agriculture, Stillwell + Co is uniquely positioned to understand clients needs and recognize the gaps in the industry on a deeper level.

“I am one of them. I live the life, feed the stock, deal with the highs and lows of high feed prices and fuel, and support my husband and family on the late nights and early mornings. I know the pressures of running a business and making sure the farm keeps on ticking, no matter what.”

-Krista Stillwell

Meeting Similar Needs

We found that most of our Livestock and Agriculture clients had a few needs in common: they needed a strong online presence, a social and digital strategy, optimized marketing assets, strategic organization and communication, and a deeper vision to get them where they needed to be. Our clients at the Indiana Angus Association, Drago Indiana, C.A. Taylor Construction Solutions, Cowpokes and Firefly Farms Botanical Wonders all wanted one thing: to be the best in their niche industries.

Stillwell + Co was able to provide a strategic oversight of internal projects and processes, digital content ideas, and assistance in solidifying the right target audience on social media platforms. Our team was able to transfer hosting responsibilities to reliable hosting services, update websites with accurate and real-time information, improve SEO, and drive traffic to the website through blog writing.

Indiana Angus Association

It’s no secret that managing a team of individuals takes strategy, but what happens when managing a team rests on the shoulders of individuals who don’t feel equipped to handle it?

Two words: **strategic direction**. On top of centralizing the IAA’s marketing channels, Stillwell + Co was able to build confidence in the IAA team and work toward a direction that would lead to success. The Indiana Angus Association has more than doubled its social media presence, saw great ROI in their important publication the Indiana Angus News, and retained a strong 200+ member base since Stillwell + Co began managing their full content strategy. In addition, the future looks bright as Stillwell + Co looks for unique ways to leverage the strengths of the national association that supports the state and its members.

Drago Indiana

Stillwell + Co began working with Drago in 2020 on a project basis. After being introduced to the Drago folks during a photo shoot with fellow networking partner and S+Co client C.A. Taylor Construction Solutions, we formed a relationship that delivered results on an as-needed basis, first with a sales brochure, and then with trailer wrap concepts for their new parts trailers. Before long, the conversation opened to what it would look like to have S+Co manage their marketing on an ongoing basis. Much like other partners, marketing fell on the shoulders of individuals who had full plates already, and with an office of dreamers and visionaries, this meant that many of the best-laid plans didn’t come to light. With S+Co at the helm of marketing projects, Drago Indiana is working with international brands to ensure their objectives are being pursued. This includes nationwide direct mail efforts, plans for an updated website, dynamic video and visual content, and the production and publication of their own magazine. In addition, they recently went through a rebranding process to ensure their brand is ready for the future.

two men sitting at a table — Drago Indiana is currently planning an annual event, Drago Indiana Discovery Day, that will welcome individuals to the farm location to experience the newest technology each brand has to offer along with the unveiling of the new magazine and future plans for the new website.

C.A. Taylor Construction Solutions

As the company expanded beyond the family farming operation, C.A. Taylor Owner Clinton Taylor discovered a need for knowledge to provide a consultative approach to relationship building. These relationships were driven by partnering with reputable vendors like Nucor Building System. Currently, C.A Taylor is experiencing record setting years of building sales and project oversight. Clinton has reaped the benefits of referral and digital marketing efforts like content creation by Stillwell + Co. As our partnership with C.A. Taylor continues, we will focus on brand values, real-life examples, and telling his story visually through in person networking.

Cowpokes Work & Western

As a premier retailer in the livestock and agricultural lifestyle industry, Cowpokes prides themselves on not only living the western lifestyle, but bringing others along for the ride. Cowpokes branded shoots include real livestock families, rodeo queens, active livestock-showing teens, and even young cowboys and cowgirls to represent the Cowpokes brand. Cowpokes also employs these same folks in their store, and invites them to work the trade shows. Stillwell + Co works alongside Cowpokes to bring everyone into the family through unique engagement opportunities onsite at events like the North American International Livestock Exposition and the National FFA Convention. Their external partnerships focus on other engaging ways to interact with the brand, including concert ticket giveaways, radio partnerships, and sponsoring local livestock shows and events. Through this effort, Cowpokes has tripled sales on their e-commerce website and strongly increased in-store sales and trade show sales. The goal of continued storytelling through utilizing images and realistic uses of products allows individuals to truly picture themselves in the apparel, tack, and accessories the brand offers each day in store and online.

Problem Solving Solutions

As we said earlier, most of Stillwell + Co’s Livestock & Agriculture clients present similar needs. This means we are able to hone in on solutions that really work. We provide a full scope marketing approach complete with social media strategy, website maintenance and planning, branding guidelines, improved logos, project management support, analytics tracking, ROI analysis, consultations with internal teams, and more. We assist our clients in a strategic social media approach, providing content ideas, content creation, and improving internal projects and processes.