Ag literacy groups always want to connect consumers with real farmers. For good reason, too: personal, face-to-face connections are a great way of building trust and confidence. But unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to have farmers at your events.

Our clients have been pretty creative about finding ways around that problem. One farm bureau asked us to make life-size cutouts with photos and quotes from their members, for instance. Another client had us record interviews with local farmers to incorporate into VR farm tours.

One Canadian ag literacy organization, Farm & Food Care, took things even further. They wanted a way for consumers to contact farmers personally, and for farmers to hear directly what questions are on consumers’ minds. But, again, they just couldn’t have farmers at every event.

Developing a Solution

As we hashed out ideas with Farm & Food Care, we kept coming back to a custom video booth concept. Farmers can’t stay by their phones waiting for a call. But if consumers recorded a video of themselves asking farmers their questions, Farm & Food Care could send it along to the farmers, and they’d see it when they have time.

Plus, consumers are familiar with photo booths at events. A video booth isn’t that much different. And this wouldn’t just be for entertainment — it would be a vital part of Farm & Food Care’s educational strategies. They could use the messages to identify exactly what consumers want to learn about. Then they’d be able to develop new programs and materials that directly addressed those issues.

Building an Ag-Themed Video Booth

With the concept in mind, we started engineering the video booth itself. Since Farm & Food Care wanted to use it at a lot of events, the number-one qualification was that it had to be easy to put up and take down. It also had to be able to block some sound, so the consumers and their questions weren’t drowned out by background noise. And, of course, if we were going to make a video booth for an ag literacy organization, it should be ag-themed too.

Our craftsmen figured out the best solution: a frame of steel bars, held together by simple connectors, with graphic panels between the bars. The only tool needed to assemble the booth is an ordinary allen wrench. Everything else is just holding the bars and attaching connectors. The panels slide easily into grooves in the bars, keeping them secure. And with the red graphics on the panels, the booth resembles a barn — an easy-to-recognize connection to the ag theme.

Farm & Food Care’s new video booth benefits everybody. Consumers feel heard and cared about. Farm & Food Care gets insight into their audience’s concerns. Farmers learn what they should address when they interact with consumers. It’s a simple solution, but it makes a big impact.

(You can see more about the video booth in our portfolio of custom projects.)