Extraordinary times call for … something completely different

The Covid-19 outbreak, and the resulting reactions, changes and unrelenting news coverage, created a tense and anxious atmosphere in just about every segment of society. For Coyote Ridge Ranch, at this time of year, the majority of their contact with customers is digital — a crucial time period for sales. More than that, there was a real sense among the ranch, and among the larger ranching community, that it would be nice to maybe talk about something else, at least for a little while.

So, following up on an off-hand comment, we created the Coyote Ridge Ranch Photo Contest, and reached out to our friends, customers and the larger ranching community, and asked them to share images of their operations, their families and their cattle — whatever they wanted — and we’d all get to see what’s happening around the country. The results were inspiring — literally thousands of engagements, many more views and we had nearly 50 entrants in just a few days time.

To keep it going, we created the “People’s Choice” selection, and asked our Facebook followers and website visitors to select their favorite images, and we shared this process and kept people engaged and interested. After announcing that vote total, we announced the finalists for the CRR Judges’ Contest, in the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion categories so familiar in the Cattle Contest Crowd. Also, perhaps a subtle reminder that CRR had just recently won the Grand Champion Pen of Bulls at the National Western Stock Show!

In all, we connected to our customers in a way that they enjoyed, and engaged. And we got to share a little break from the news of the day, even as we celebrating the sense of community in ranching circles, and played our part in supporting it.