| Abstract: | Research into farm diversification typically considers aspects of marketing at a generalized level. This exploratory article focuses specifically on farm-based accommodation to provide a detailed exploration of advertising strategies employed by farm businesses in the promotion of this enterprise. Drawing upon evidence from a survey of over 200 farm businesses in three English counties, types of advertising media are considered and their relative benefits evaluated. Results show that from the complex range of available options, holiday accommodation ‘guidebooks’ produced by private companies and organizations represent the most popular methods of advertising used by farm businesses. However, the success of individual guidebooks in generating custom was highly variable between the different study areas. Cooperative marketing groups provide important advertising alternatives to guidebooks, mainly for bed and breakfast and self-catering operators. Overall, the need to advertise accommodation enterprises actively means that many farm family businesses develop closer interactions with external agents from the nonagricultural sector. |
