Driving down the main street of Palmerston North, you can’t miss the bold signage announcing the home of the New Zealand Rugby Museum. Yet 4.1 kms further south, an understated facility has produced more world greats than the Barrett family.
No billboard boasts its fame because most work here is a trade secret. The only visitors allowed inside are dignitaries, customers, Prime Ministers - and now, the writers and designers from Big on Writing.
That facility is the Fonterra Research and Development Centre (FRDC).
From a makeshift lab in 1927, FRDC has become one of the world’s most impactful scientific research centres, quietly amassing over 1,400 trade secrets and 489 patents worth billions.
Humble by nature, FRDC scientists like to keep their cards close to their chests. But in today’s competitive world, documenting this global success story is increasingly important, which is where Fonterra Senior Marketer Laurette Batstone comes in.
“We have all these incredible innovations,” she explained in her brief, “but we need to tell our stories better to set us apart from the competition and showcase our pioneering spirit and world-class science.”
This required both sides of a writer's brain—the left side to crunch complex scientific equations into Plain English and the right side to turn them into a rollicking good story! “We want our visitors to be excited about our work, not just now but in the future.”
Our brief was to create a 'Pick 'n' Mix' presentation pack that could be adapted for every visiting customer or government official, regardless of their interest, degree of scientific knowledge or language.
The Marketing team had done all the heavy lifting in collating information, and they knew what they wanted. Our job was to support them with logic flow and storytelling techniques.
Before putting pen to paper, we interviewed the Director of Research and Development, Pierre Venter, and the Senior Management team.
Pierre has a strong vision for FRDC's future, its connection to the past, and its role in Fonterra's innovation strategy. He also understands customers' global needs.
It became clear that science is about standing on the shoulders of giants—scientists who have paved the way and enabled Fonterra to have a massive 97-year advantage over its competitors.
Yet at the same time, this had to be presented in a modern and future-facing way. This was distilled into a clear USP: Pioneering Dairy Innovation.
Unlike consumer advertising, B2B writing demands deep immersion in unfamiliar topics.
We couldn’t fake it; we had to truly, deeply understand the science. To do this research, we used:
By working alongside Laurette and Liz as a team, we were able to collectively develop stories that were compelling and true.
To kick off the presentation, BOW created a four-minute video to engage the audience with storytelling. Here, we took our inspiration from modern scientific narration, breaking down complex explanations into entertaining stories that contain drama, humour, and animated photos.
We sourced hundreds of old and modern photos, knitting them all together using riveting footage, editing, stock footage animation, and AI. The opening shot was built using Midjourney, with almost every second of the video created using up to 20 layers to bring movement to stills.
One of the most overlooked parts of any pitch is the PowerPoint Presentation. Done well, it can persuade a customer to come onboard. But, like any piece of communication it needs a clear logic flow and end game.
To achieve this, we took a leaf from our web-writing book, using Miro to develop UX flows and PowerPoint ‘wireframes’ for all presentations. This enabled us to organise the vast amount of data and existing presentations into a logical information flow and get agreement before commencing writing.
First up, we brought the copy in line with the Fonterra brand tone of voice, which was: We not me, human and open, restless solvers and straight up.
The headlines had more intrigue and nailed the point of the slide. Copy was kept minimal, and we used icons as prompt points, while also providing extensive presenter notes so the audience was focused on the presenter, not just the slides.
Finally, we included photography of actual scientists with quotes and names to build authenticity and used Fonterra photos as a fresh relief from 99% of other usually diagram-heavy Powerpoints.
Again, it was a collaborative effort with the marketing team. Together, we wrote six presentations with pick-and-mix adaptability.
To summarise the entire pitch, we further supported the team by creating a brochure with a concertina that extended out to show the timeline on one side and the About Us section of the other side.
“It is rare to be marketing the capabilities of an entire research hub, so there are no marketing principles. You have to trust your instinct and find the right partners to support you – which is also a hard ask in this space. Big On Writing came with an open mind and a thirst to know everything, and anything about the science. They didn’t just want to turn the job around; they were invested. They were always happy to push the envelope, and we learned to trust them as the ideas they presented were relevant and on point.”
Laurette Batstone, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager, Fonterra
In the first week of launch, FRDC presented to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Komal Mistry-Mehta, Fonterra's Chief Innovation and Brand Officer. They both loved the presentation and were particularly delighted at the use of AI for the video's opening graphic.
Internally, Pierre Venter, the Director of FRDC, and the key management team and staff have had a run-through of the presentation, and it was equally well received.
Feedback is that the teams felt the work really elevated how Fonterra showcased their R&D capabilities. There was particular appreciation for how the storytelling brought the science to life, making it more engaging and accessible. Also, the AI-generated opening visual sparked much discussion—it was seen as an innovative touch that helped set the tone for the presentation.
