‘Day in the Life’ approach highlights business unit’s importance to the company

Land O’ Lakes, Inc., like many food companies, is involved in a number of businesses. One that is likely a mystery to the majority of employees who produce food for human consumption is its animal business, the well-known Purina brand. 

As part of a series of articles designed to educate employees about the company’s various operations, “Focus on Animal Nutrition” was designed to enlighten workers about where Purina Animal Nutrition fits into the company, how the business works and makes money, and the scope and scale of products in the portfolio. 

To achieve this, communicators produced a number of individual stories focusing on employees who worked in various phases of Purina Animal Nutrition production, each accompanied by striking photography. 

Working with more than 2,000 photos and a number of extensive interviews, the team produced an article that walked readers through each phase of production, from the arrival of product at the facility to mixing, testing, bagging, wrapping, warehousing, and shipping. The article was also crafted to reflect companywide themes of quality, pride, teamwork, value, and partnership. 

The stellar reviews from employees demonstrate the effectiveness of the effort to bring the operation to life, which has earned Ragan’s 2014 Employee Communications Award for Best Feature Article (Electronic). Congratulations to Mara Whitten, Nicole Von Ruden, Bill Van Cleaf, Brandon Budnicki, and Ryan Beaver.