A Cattle Ranch as the Ultimate Toy?
Richard Branson owns an island in the Caribbean. Greg Norman has wineries in Australia and California. Why don’t you consider a cattle station in central Australia?
A bold digital advertising campaign targeting high net worth individuals around the world is the centrepiece of an unusual marketing program for a cattle station up for auction in Australia’s Northern Territory. The digital ads are linked to a purpose-built website that showcases the cattle station
The campaign aims to plant the seed into potential investors’ minds that a cattle station is a better alternative to other options – such as a luxury yacht, or a horse stud.
“Mustering cattle is far more interesting than watching grapes grow,” says the owner of MacDonald Downs, Charlie Chalmers. “We muster by helicopter and quad bikes, I fly very low to the ground to find the cattle hidden under the vegetation and let the bikes know where to follow them up.”
The cattle are taken to market up in Darwin by one of the world’s biggest road trains, routinely carrying around 300 head of cattle in three double-decker carriages for the two-day journey up north.
It’s these “boy’s toys” that have prompted the Chalmers to market their property as the “ultimate toy”, the perfect sized cattle station to provide a healthy profit and an exciting lifestyle at the same time.
“We know there are potential investors out there who have never thought of a cattle station as an investment. Of course you could move here and run the station day-to-day, or you could employ a manager and visit the property whenever you like.”
The new owners wouldn’t need to make the ultimate “tree change”, says Charlie, as there are plenty of talented station managers around who would love to be offered such a job.
They wouldn’t even have to live in Australia.
The nearest town, Alice Springs has an international airport and the claim to fame of being the closest town to the geographical centre of Australia.
MacDonald Downs is about 285km northeast of Alice, and occupies about 2000+ square kilometres of the unique heart of Australia. It will have around 6,000 head of cattle at the time it goes under the hammer, on 18 June this year.
The vendors have produced a website that covers every aspect of the station, from the business to the lifestyle and everything in between, aiming to give potential buyers a taste of what’s on offer.
“The cattle pretty much take care of themselves, feeding on the shrubs and grasses that occur naturally on the land and doing things like reproducing without any interference from the humans,” says Charlie.
“There’s plenty of water in dams and bores that are connected to an extensive irrigation system. There’s plenty of opportunity for further crops and developments in eco-tourism.”
Charlie won’t publish the price he’s hoping to achieve at the auction, preferring instead that anyone interested get in touch with him directly via the details on the website.
“Let’s put it this way,” says Charlie. “It’s been a family business for three generations. Now we are retiring, and the kids have moved on to cattle stations of their own, it’s time for MacDonald Downs to pass into fresh hands.”
About the Author
Samantha Tannous is the Director of Relativity Communications a Public Relations, Digital Marketing and Social Media Agency in Sydney Australia. http://www.ultimatetoy.com.au
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