POPULARIZING RABBIT FARMING IN FILIPINO SOCIETY
From a presentation during the 1st National Rabbit Congress, Michael Roy Soliman, a development communicator and medical professional, shared some tips on how to market the rabbit industry in Filipino society where rabbits are most often perceived as pets.
As a medical professional himself, Soliman promotes the consumption of rabbit meat instead of other kinds of livestock. This is due to rabbits’ high protein, low fat content, which makes it popular among the health-conscious.
According to Soliman, it is important to know your market before you start the business. Segmenting your target market and knowing what they want will make it easier for you to present your products and services.
At this point, one can market a rabbit industry if he can execute A.I.D.A marketing model effectively. This stands for:
Attention. We live in the “attention economy,” where who or what has the attention of the people is most powerful. Gaining the attention of the people is a great way to promote the unrecognized industry of rabbit farming.
One way of getting the attention of your target market is to introduce the idea of rabbit meat as alternative livestock. In a country like the Philippines where the industry is unpopular, this may cause curiosity to people or even alarm them. Some may even protest, but it is a good indication that you caught their
attention.
Interest. Having the attention of your target market is a good start. However, it may only last for a moment. It is important to convert that attention into interest.
Instead of having a simple presentation about the benefits of rabbit meat, a story about the rabbit industry is a better option. Touching the emotion of your audience is an advantage.
Soliman himself shared that he once watched a presentation about rabbitry from two to three years ago, yet it caught his attention and interest due to the emotional impact of the presentation. According to him, the story was about a student who took care of and bred rabbits. The student was able to finish his studies and helped his family through the profit from farming rabbits. This kind of story and commercial tactic can be considered as a model in promoting the rabbit industry.
Desire. Introduce to your market the benefits of consuming your products and how it can possibly solve their problems.
Raising questions such as “Will you be healthier if you consume rabbit meat? Will it reduce the risk of diseases? Will it improve your quality of life?” is a more powerful tool in convincing people to go into rabbit farming than just presenting the obvious benefits of having an agribusiness.
Action. The final step is to persuade your target market to take immediate action. Soliman expressed that if Local Government Units were to promote the rabbit industry in the country, instead of having a whole day seminar, it would be better to create a 15 minute video presentation applying the AIDA marketing model.
The video presentation will serve as an appetizer for people to actually go into rabbit farming by slowly introducing the industry, gradually boosting their interest and desire until they fully understand the process. This act can be done per municipality until society is able to adjust to the existence of the rabbit industry as alternative livestock.