The challenge
New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF) is a nationwide club network for over 1,600 young people involved in agriculture, from students through to on‑farm and off‑farm professionals. Members are often very busy during peak times, which makes it hard to commit to the club, even though NZYF offers social gatherings, training days, networks and the prestigious Young Farmer of the Year competition. The organisation was facing shifting member demographics and needed to understand how to connect with members and create offerings that truly met their needs, so it could respond to change, attract, and retain members. Building on earlier work to deeply understand their members and map the member experience, the next step was to turn those insights into clear, testable value propositions.
How we helped
We facilitated a value proposition design workshop focused on profiling, value proposition development, competitor analysis and crafting messaging prototypes. We started by reviewing existing research and selecting the main persona profiles to work with, then used individual and group work to establish “current state” profiles for different member types. The team critiqued and iterated these profiles together to validate them and select the most important needs and high‑value jobs for each profile.
From there, we moved into value proposition design. Working both individually and in groups, the team drafted value propositions and then stress‑tested them through critique and discussion to refine and validate the emerging options. We identified the most critical pain relievers and gain creators required to fulfil members’ needs, and used a competitor analysis to differentiate NZYF. Finally, we crafted messaging prototypes to test with members.
The impact
NZYF came away with clarity about their main personas and how different types of members experienced value from the organisation. The workshop generated valuable insights into member profiles and competitors. It helped the team make focused, thought-provoking progress, rather than getting stuck in abstract discussion. It strengthened teamwork, alignment, and shared understanding. Importantly, the process built new capability around value proposition design. The team gained tools and language that they can reuse as NZYF continues to evolve its offerings for current and future members.
“We were at a loss as to how to get started. Vaughan skilfully challenged our thinking through a range of activities and questioning, and we left the workshop with clarity, renewed enthusiasm and a shared understanding of our value propositions.” – Sara Luckman, Membership Strategy Manager, New Zealand Young Farmers