Giving worms a whack

A recent national survey of worm management practices and the prevalence of drench resistance on New Zealand farms showed that two thirds of the sheep farms and 94% of the beef farms surveyed had worms resistant to one or more drenches. Despite this, many farmers aren’t aware of, or haven’t accepted, the rise of resistance, so continue to drench as they always have. Vets want to help farmers better manage resistance, but are struggling to be valued for their advice in this area. This was the environment into which Zoetis was launching its new vet-exclusive triple combination drench, Troika.

The category norm

The category is struggling with a case of ‘what got us here, won’t get us there’, with minimal public leadership or support shown for wider resistance challenges facing farmers and vets. Competitors are simply engaged in a product/brand battle.

The standout idea

NZ Parasitologist, Dr Dave Leathwick, has this to say about worm resistance in sheep: “We cannot make it go away without significant change to the farming operation.” While every farm’s situation and worm resistance is different, the one commonality is the need to change. But change requires more than just a new drench solution. It requires the combination of expert advice on more effective worm management and a tailored drench programme, including new Troika. As the Zoetis brand carried more respect and recognition in the market than Troika, it had the opportunity to be seen as the stewards of this change through bringing its science, solutions and support to the table for both farmers and vets. This aligned closely to Zoetis’ brand promise – to nurture our world and humankind by advancing care for animals – and gave us the perfect platform to promote Troika along the way.

Outstanding execution

‘Change it up’ is a rallying cry for farmers, clearly signalling that change is needed if they’re to make any inroad into improving sheep health and gains through better management of worm resistance. Under this umbrella idea we encouraged farmers to ‘Rethink drenching’ and start a conversation with their vet around smarter worm management that included Troika as part of the solution. We also activated the vet channel, equipping them with the knowledge and resources to approach the worm resistance conversation with their sheep farmers, providing tech sheets, promotional ideas and POS at participating clinics.