We wanted to shake up people’s preconceptions, challenge their beliefs and spur conversation about food. Knowing not everyone is immediately interested in agriculture or food production, we kept things bold, simple and irresistibly engaging.

We covered a real car in dirt to communicate how healthy farm fields help fight global warming.

A gigantic head of lettuce created one of the most Instragrammable moments at SXSW. It also educated guests about innovative farming techniques.

We used voice clips from real people to create a powerful connection between SXSW visitors and those struggling with food insecurity. Overall, 6,459 meals were donated.

Using a robot, we showed off the beauty and power of agricultural technology and how farmers are using satellite imagery to use less chemicals.

A larger-than-life DNA strand put the real-life potential of genetically modified crops in people’s hands, challenging them to solve food production issues.

The execution of The Food Effect was equally as ambitious as our goal of changing perceptions of Land O’Lakes with savvy, skeptical SXSW attendees. One of the most important considerations in the successful execution of The Food Effect was location. We knew we were a brand that was known for butter or not known at all. So we placed ourselves in the heart of downtown Austin, two blocks from the convention center. Within four months we transformed a 6,000-square-foot venue into a robust experience full of interactive installations and over 10 hours of keynote presentations and panels. This was Land O’Lakes’ first-ever brand activation at this scale and with this complexity of messaging. And we took that complicated message and made simple, artful interactions and a memorable experience for The Food Effect guests.

The Food Effect has so far garnered more than 121,931,143 media impressions from 288 placements.

More than 25 media outlets visited and toured the experience, including The New York Times, Bloomberg News, NBC, Fox News, CNBC, Fast Company, Mashable, NPR and VICE. Senator Christopher Coons attended as well, prompting an onsite one-on-one meeting with Chris Policinski, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes. The meeting led Senator Coons to include Land O’Lakes in his SXSW panel talk, identifying the company as an example of innovation in legacy industries.

The experience was named a top SXSW activation by multiple publications and was featured above the fold of the Austin American-Statesman during SXSW.

In recognition of its strong reputation for innovation, Land O’Lakes was named to Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired Companies for 2018.”

780 surveys were completed by guests. After experiencing The Food Effect, 82% of respondents indicated that they strongly agreed or agreed that Land O’Lakes is a forward-thinking company, and 81% had a very positive or positive perception of the company.

The Food Effect experience attracted 8,137 guests, more than double the attendance goal.

Visitors remained at the experience for an average of 40 minutes, with 80% of them interacting with the installations.

In just two weeks, the event landing page garnered 8,562 visits, mirroring the number of guests.

The Food Effect has so far achieved 1,026,023 social media impressions and a 23.88% engagement rate, an 895% percent increase over the average engagement rate on the Land O’Lakes social channels.