Context

Innovation is often driven by necessity, and stories about transformational innovation are more believable and compelling when they involve an urgent and escalating issue. This is known as a burning platform.

New Zealand’s economy relies heavily on two key export sectors: tourism and food production. Both of these sectors have leveraged New Zealand’s “100 percent pure” reputation for many years. However, with ever-increasing demand on our food production system to help feed the world’s growing population, we are starting to see the pressure food production is putting on our natural environments, threatening our pure reputation as well as our tourism sector.

This real, urgent issue provides the burning platform which acts as a backdrop for the New Zealand Agritech Story.

Story essence, narrative and positioning

The essence of the New Zealand Agritech Story is the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga – care for people, place and planet for future generations – as applied to modern agriculture and New Zealand agritech innovation.

This is explained through a narrative that forms an emotive introduction to the New Zealand Agritech Story, which then leads into the more detailed and factual elements. We have brought this narrative to life in the Agritech Story hero video. The Story positioning, Powered by Place, is the lead idea for introducing an audience to our Story and was created to succinctly capture the essence and make a memorable first impression.

It speaks to the special connection New Zealanders have to the land (as kaitiaki or guardians) and how this connection inspires or powers New Zealand agritech innovation. It provides our Story with a unique point of difference when responding to global food production challenges and helps establish what we stand for as a country – our New Zealand story.

Key messages

The New Zealand Agritech Story includes four key messages: Powering Great Farmers, A World of Expertise in One Country, Natural Innovators, Powerful Partnerships.
These messages unpack our Story in more detail and are specially designed to form compelling responses to the core themes uncovered in the industry workshops and Deloitte’s market insights research. Each one is backed up by facts and statistics, a verbatim quote from a third party, and a showcase of relevant New Zealand businesses.

The New Zealand Agritech Story Showcase Booklet brings together the Story narrative, key messages and supporting information to form a comprehensive introduction to the Story.
The full New Zealand Agritech Story toolkit includes the Showcase Booklet, hero video and Market Insights report prepared by Deloitte – as well as photography, video content, slide decks, event collateral, case studies and infographics that you can use as part of your own storytelling.

Sharing the story

The more the New Zealand Agritech Story is used by our agritech community, the greater the impact it’ll have offshore – this repetition will help build our reputation.

If you’re in a position to promote the Story, here are some easy ways you can help spread the word:

• Start or finish your next presentation with the Agritech Story Hero video

• Embed the Agritech Story Hero video on your website or social media pages

• Use the Powered By Place positioning and Story collateral for agritech-related events or engagements with an overseas audience

• Draw on the Story’s key messages and proof points to help explain why New Zealand agritech is unique and relevant

• Add the #PoweredByPlace hashtag to your social media posts when sharing New Zealand agritech stories, and reshare other #PoweredByPlace tagged content with your social network

• Share the Agritech Story Hero video or Showcase Booklet with your international contacts

• Encourage others to download and use the free Story resources

Making the story your own

If you’re a member of the New Zealand agritech community, the New Zealand Agritech Story belongs to you. It’s been created to help pave the way for your conversations with buyers, investors or influencers offshore.

Make the story your own by using some of its messages and content in your own sales and marketing efforts, or making it part of the conversations you have about your business or about New Zealand agritech in general. Take as much or as little as you need.

The table below sets out some common points raised by international stakeholders when talking about New Zealand agritech, and provides examples of how the Story’s key messages can help shape your response.