Better Choices transforming Australia’s wool industry
YEAR
2007 – 2011
CLIENT
Bayer Animal Health
INDUSTRY
Animal Health, Animal welfare
SERVICES
Website, research, advocacy, training, advertising, communication, video production
The challenge
Despite the existence of a new scientific solution to address major animal welfare concerns in sheep, widespread adoption was hindered by traditional practices and a lack of unified communication. The diverse range of stakeholders held conflicting views, making it difficult to implement necessary changes.
17,000,000+
lambs was the estimated market
Discovery
Spinifex started with a question: How can we change farmer attitudes towards adopting new practices for animal welfare?
Medical Insight: A pain relief solution used for children’s skin abrasions proved effective in relieving pain in lambs, combining a local anaesthetic and antiseptic gel spray.
Market Potential: An estimated market of over 17 million lambs.
Farmer Survey: We surveyed sheep farmers and found that 82% believed wound healing and pain relief were important in lamb management practices.
Design
We crafted an executable strategy focusing on:
Audited Welfare Program: Developed for woolgrowers to certify their wool as derived from best-practice animal care methods.
Stakeholder Alignment: Brought together wool brokers, manufacturers, retailers, and animal rights groups to agree on the program.
Digital Platform: Created an accessible online platform to capture on-farm data for wool marketing.
Education Program: Provided comprehensive training on new requirements for woolgrowers.
On-Site Support: Communicated effectively in the wool shed to help sheep producers realise real value from their better choice.
Delivery
Spinifex collaborated with Bayer and industry stakeholders to:
Craft, Test and Deploy Communications: Developed creative content to change farmer attitudes and stakeholder mindsets.
Market and Sell Product: Despite restrictions on mentioning the product by name, we effectively promoted its benefits.
Foster Cultural Change: Emphasized shared accountability, taking a leadership role to inspire honest advocacy and new practices.
Watch: Press Play on Better Choices
Better Choices started as a simple idea, to help growers make informed, confident decisions.
What followed was years of collaboration, insight sharing, and steady change across the wool industry.
This 30 sec TVC brings the movement to life. We wrote the lyrics and collaborated with Zig Zag Lane to write the music and produce the anthem.
Better decisions. Stronger outcomes. One choice at a time.
Results
Industry Transformation:
At completion, six out of 10 lambs received pain relief, indicating a significant shift in industry practices. This figure is now at nine out of 10 lambs.
Empowered Farmers:
The Better Choices audited digital platform captured data on woolgrowers, helping them achieve value from their commitment to animal welfare.
Sustainable Impact:
Improved sheep health and welfare led to better wool yield and quality, benefiting farmers economically.
The Legacy
The Better Choices program didn’t end with us and that’s something we’re proud of.
Today, the program is still active, still using the same logo, and still guided by the strategic foundations we helped build. It’s been expanded beyond its original scope, but the intent remains: better choices for animals, farmers, and the industry.
Because when something works, it lasts.
Where’s the value in a better choice?
❝
The solution required transforming hearts and minds.
Working with Spinifex we gained deep insights of the challenges woolgrowers faced and then used those insights to build a solution woolgrowers could sign up with and position their product as produced ethically to the whole supply chain through to the retailers.
❞
– Andrew Mason
Business Unit Leader at program launch
Bayer Animal Health