The challenge
New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF) has been an integral part of New Zealand’s food and fibre sector since 1927, supporting over 1,600 young people through a network of more than 60 clubs in rural and urban settings. Members come to NZYF for new connections, skills, knowledge, experiences, and pathways, but the world they operate in is changing fast, and what worked in the past may not work in the future. Lynda, the CEO, was already on a journey to build a more sustainable business model and held working assumptions about the membership, yet she wanted to challenge those assumptions and gain clarity grounded in a deep understanding of members’ real needs. The brief was clear: develop robust, evidence‑based personas and a view of the member experience that could guide strategy, services and partnerships.
How we helped
We used the DUCTRI design thinking approach and led a major discovery effort, including 21 member interviews and 2 club visits. Interviewees represented diverse locations, backgrounds, ethnicities, jobs, club roles and membership duration, capturing the breadth of NZYF’s community.
In the understanding phase, we used structured tools to turn input into insight. We profiled each interviewee, capturing observations, attitudes, behaviours, and standout quotes. Affinity mapping revealed commonalities, themes, gaps, and tensions.
We distilled our findings into four outputs: word clouds to show key attributes; a point-of-view statement on core member needs; key member experiences, findings and evidence; and an engaging presentation with video highlights for the board and leadership to build shared understanding.
The discovery showed the need for two lasting assets. We created two personas reflecting different members and culture dynamics, and a journey map highlighting key moments, pain points, and value drivers affecting members and clubs.
The impact
Lynda describes this work as significant for both NZYF and her role as CEO. She trusted that the NZYF strategy was based on solid customer knowledge and insight, not assumptions. Teams have strengthened existing work streams by using personas and journey maps to guide service delivery, helping them focus on what matters most to members. The insights sparked new activities to improve processes and experiences. In partnership discussions, Lynda now uses concrete evidence about who NZYF serves and what they value, giving the organisation a clear competitive advantage.
“We moved from assumptions to a clear picture of who our members are and what matters to them. The personas and journey map have become everyday tools for guiding our decisions.” – Lynda Coppersmith, CEO, New Zealand Young Farmers
Building on this insight work, the team then used these personas to clarify NZYF’s value propositions.