As the Cotton Research and Promotion Program enters its 50th year, The Cotton Board is launching a new campaign directed at producers that will give them the confidence needed to renew their faith in cotton.
It is a hard time to be a cotton farmer. Cotton is entering into new territory, a time when prices are low, market share is declining and federal farm policy isn’t what many had hoped it would be. The Cotton Research and Promotion Program (the Program) has a positive story to tell and a legacy to back it up, but it must not get bogged down in the past. So the new campaign is a forward-looking rally cry for the cotton industry, letting the cotton-growing community know that the Program is pressing on and the possibilities are limitless.
Fifty years ago, another generation of cotton producers formed a public/private partnership to strengthen research and promotion for cotton. The producers who helped launch the Cotton Research & Promotion Program in 1966 faced similar challenges of declining market share, low prices and energized competition. They came together to ensure the future of cotton in the marketplace and in their communities.
Possibilities Are Limitless
There is no single reason why cotton is again facing declining market share and disappointing prices, but there is only one group throughout the world that is actively trying to do something about it – the U.S. cotton industry. Only the U.S. cotton industry invests this amount of effort and level of funding into cotton research and promotion to increase cotton consumption worldwide. No other cotton-producing country – not China, not India, not Brazil, not anyone – has worked more or invested more in programs that aid cotton producers in every part of the world.
With each new challenge, the cotton industry builds upon the solid foundation of the Program. The Program continues to cultivate new markets and applications for cotton on behalf of today’s producers and importers, and for the generations that follow. And while downturns in cotton prices make headlines, new markets and innovations for cotton have the potential to make even more history.
The possibilities for cotton are limitless. And together, through the Program, cotton producers and importers are funding cutting-edge scientific research, award-winning advertising campaigns and state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques to help this trusted, reliable crop find new markets for generations to come.
Cotton’s future is renewable. Cotton prices have risen and fallen many times, but the demand for this natural, sustainable resource always returns with new possibilities and advances from research and promotion. The Renew Your Faith in Cotton campaign tells the story of research and promotion being done by Cotton Incorporated and introduces the cotton industry to exciting projects, such as innovations in cottonseed for food production and breakthroughs in fiber technology.
Campaign Execution
The campaign will be executed through a variety of channels, including print advertising, radio features and digital platforms. The print campaign will have six ads – three focused on cotton as the food of the future and three focused on cotton as the fiber of the future.
The campaign was launched at the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show in Memphis in late February, and print, radio and digital advertising will continue to be executed throughout the year.
The campaign ads ultimately drive users to the Renew Your Faith In Cotton website where they can learn more about the research behind each specific project. This site will be the designated place where growers can go to see how their Program funds are being used.
As we enter cotton’s next 50 years, the Cotton Research and Promotion Program has a renewed commitment to the hard work and dedication required to make cotton the preferred fiber for the world. It’s time to Renew Your Faith in Cotton. Find out more about the campaign at renew.cottonboard.org.
The Cotton Board, which administers CI’s Research and Promotion Program, contributed information for this article.