THE WINNER
Cooper Farms is a family-owned farm and food company producing farm-to-fork turkey, pork and eggs, focusing on value-added private-label products. A small publication, known as the Cooper Connection, started as a way to recognize team and company successes when there were fewer than 100 team members. Today, the company has 2,400 team members, and the publication has evolved to become a quarterly, full-color, 24-page magazine.

THE WORK
The goal remains unchanged -- to tell the story of Cooper Farms' values and connect with the people who matter most to the company: team members, farmers, suppliers and customers. As a reflection of its “continuous improvement” mindset, the company wished to evolve the publication to connect with a diversified group of recipients. Shift•ology has provided design and editing since 2020, and began to manage the production process in 2022, coordinating with in-house communicators, HR professionals and division leaders.

Editorial Strategy
The teams collaborated to develop content editorial and work plans. This helped to outline topics to connect the personal and business values of the audience with that of Cooper Farms. To successfully write and compile all of this information, the Shift•ology team works closely with the internal teams, conducts interviews and gathers visuals to create engaging content.

Design Strategy
The layout incorporates images of real people and events with strategic use of design elements that help to tell the story on each layout and show the diversity that exists throughout the company. The prolific use of real images serves to engage the audience and provide a sense of pride for those featured.

The Cooper Connection magazine is printed and distributed via mail to customers and local stakeholders. It is hand-delivered to team members and available to all audiences via the company website and social media each quarter.

THE WINS
For every issue, Cooper Farms leaders receive positive feedback from customers, farmers and team members.

• Those quoted or featured are increasingly likely to hear from those who found their story or quote enlightening.
• Nearly 5,000 people enjoy each edition of the Cooper Connection and many keep the magazine for months after its publication.
• In employee surveys, the majority of employees rate the Cooper Connection as their favorite communication tool.