We are pleased to announce a new and improved Farm & Ranch Guide program for 2009-2010!
In a time of a tight economy, we know you have a choice of advertising options for your farm or ranch. We are pleased that you would choose the FRG as one of your options for a full-rounded marketing program which includes print and television marketing, as well as a direct mail option through the AOBA leads program. FRG participation is the primary source of funding to ensure that national television ads will stay on the air and even more people will be exposed to alpacas as an alternative livestock investment. Your AOBA Marketing Committee is working hard to assist members to market their farm, ranch and alpaca services. 
 
One change we will be making this year is to the information we collect. In a time when internet users won’t spend more than 60 seconds on a webpage, we have simplified our registration page to include contact info and one question…”what is the purpose of your visit today?” The questions has 7 answers from which to choose and covers “I am researching for a paper or a school project” to “I AM proud to be an AOBA member” and every level of enthusiast in-between including “I’ve made up my mind…Alpacas are in my future.” The Marketing Committee believes that by determining the level of interest of our visitors, we can all respond more appropriately to our leads and make our marketing programs stronger.

*All AOBA Farm Members will be listed with a partial listing on the Member’s List tab on the www.alpacainfo.com website.

Online Listing: All FRG participant farms (Levels A-D) receive an online listing in the FRG locator which receives over 4,500 unique visitors each month!

FRG Locator Search Listing		FRG Participant Listing

Print Ad/Listing:

Levels	Print Ad in FRG	Print Listing in FRG
A and B		Any Alpaca Farm Owner(s) Address City, State, Zip Phone: (555) 555-1212 Email: alpaca@anyfarm.com Web: www.anyalpacafarm.com
C	None	Any Alpaca Farm Owner(s) Address City, State, Zip Phone: (555) 555-1212 Email: alpaca@anyfarm.com Web: www.anyalpacafarm.com
D	None	None
AOBA Farm Member	None	None

Leads:

ALL AOBA Farm members can buy FRG program leads via the Internet any time, day or night (cost based on the chart below). For the leads program we will require a commitment to use the leads list as designated by breeders for promotion of their individual farm or ranch.  To purchase leads, go to www.alpacaowners.com and log in. Click “Membership Services,” and then click “I would like to Purchase Leads List”. You will be able to set your own criteria and calculate the cost of those leads before purchasing. This way, you can create your own custom lead list. Costs are based on level of FRG participation – see chart below.

For those who are new to AOBA, the Farm & Ranch Guide (FRG) is a unique, cooperative marketing program whose purpose is to drive visitors to the farms and ranches of AOBA FRG participants. Additionally, the publication also includes a section entitled the “Alpaca Resource Directory (ARD).” This section is a continuing resource where vendors of alpaca apparel, alpaca home accessories, alpaca jewelry, and suppliers of farm and ranch supplies, as well as “A- or B-Level” FRG Advertisers may further promote their alpaca-related businesses and services.

The Farm & Ranch Guide (which will be at the front portion of the combined FRG & ARD publication) will mirror the successful FRG format of previous years – that is, it will consist of textual listings and print ads of participating farms.
Participation in the FRG is restricted to AOBA Farm Members. If you are an Associate member, you will want to upgrade your membership level now to “Farm” member status so you don’t miss out on this important marketing program [contact the AOBA office at (615) 834-4195 for details].

There are four levels of FRG participation:

Level “A”: 1/3 page color ad in the FRG section; bold face listing in the geographical section; and also a listing on the www.alpacainfo.com website. Additionally, “A”-Level advertisers may purchase leads generated by AOBA’s national advertising program for $0.25 each after 30 days of receipt.

Level “B”: Same as Level “A,” except ad size is 1/6th page, versus 1/3rd page.

Level “C”: A listing in the geographical section of the FRG and a listing on www.alpacainfo.com. Level “C” advertisers may purchase AOBA leads for $0.30 each after 60 days of receipt.

Level “D”: A listing on www.alpacainfo.com. Level “D” advertisers may purchase AOBA leads for $0.35 each after 90 days of receipt.

For Level “A” and Level “B” FRG advertisers who are looking for an additional forum for targeted marketing, additional advertising options are available in the Alpaca Resource Directory (ARD). Advertising in this section can include any type of alpaca-related business or service – from stud services to farm supplies to finished goods, fashions, jewelry, etc.  ARD participants may purchase leads at the same rate and time as Level “A” FRG participants. 

We look forward to helping you with your national marketing needs through the AOBA FRG & ARD!
Your AOBA Marketing Committee

IMPORTANT DATES!

JANUARY 15, 2009: Final date to register for the “Premium Advertising” lottery for Inside Back Cover and Back Cover.

FEBRUARY 20, 2009: Final date for RECEIPT of ad materials, advertising contract, and full payment. No extensions will be given this year.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

To be equitable to all advertisers, we have developed the following guidelines for the FRG & ARD publication:

FARM & RANCH SECTION:

1. Ad must focus on an alpaca farm (a physical location, not a website or other business endeavor).
2. “One Farm / One Ad” rule: only farm entities registered as AOBA Farm/Ranch Members may advertise in the FRG. Only one advertising package per farm/ranch, as multiple ads are not permitted.
3. Only one physical location per ad (e.g., business entities with multiple physical locations must purchase separate AOBA memberships and FRG ads for each geographic location).
4. If business office is located in a different state than the physical location of the alpacas for sale, the advertiser will have the option as to which state in which to place his/her ad.
5. Any website URLs listed must directly link to the advertising farm’s home page and be relevant to the FRG listing (e.g., the listed URL must take the viewer directly to an alpaca operation).
6. Use of the AOBA logo in an ad is permitted, as long as AOBA endorsement isn’t implied.
7. A minimum 1-point border around all ads is required (i.e., no “bleed” ads in the FRG section).
8. Ads must contain the word “alpaca” in some manner.
9. A farm name may appear in only one FRG ad and may not be cross-referenced in another farm's ad (Exceptions: farm names that are embedded in the registered name of an alpaca or in the web/e-mail address).
10. A farm logo may only be used in one FRG ad.
11. Cooperatives and joint ventures can only register with AOBA as “Associate Members,” so are therefore ineligible to participate in the FRG program.
12. Cooperatives and joint ventures among multiple AOBA Farm Members strictly for the purposes of advertising are not permitted in the FRG section. Such joint ventures among AOBA Farm Members ARE permitted, however, in the ARD section of this publication. (Joint family operations are exempt from this restriction.)
13. Advertising more than one business in the ad is approved only if all businesses are alpaca-related or in some way related to the sum-total operation of one alpaca farm (subject to AOBA Marketing Committee approval).
14. Because the FRG is an annual publication and should appear current through July 2010, date-specific ads will not be accepted.

Please send your contract with your print ad materials to:
AOBA Farm & Ranch Guide • c/o Able Publishing • 714 Poyntz, Suite B •Manhattan KS 66502

ALPACA RESOURCE DIRECTORY SECTION:

1. Use of the AOBA logo in an ad is permitted, as long as AOBA endorsement isn’t implied.
2. Alpaca owners/breeders who advertise in the IRD Section must also have purchased a 1/3-page or 1/6-page ad in the FRG Section (and therefore, must also be an AOBA Farm Member).
3. Because the FRG/ARD is an annual publication and should appear current through July 2010, date-specific ads will not be accepted. Instead, annual events may be advertised as taking place during a specific month or season without specifying the exact date.
4. LIMIT OF THREE PAGES per advertiser.