Lely

Lely celebrates Astronaut milking robot milestone with successful YouTube campaign
Maassluis, 27 January 2012 – Almost twenty years after the launch of the first automated milking system by Lely, the 12,500^th Lely Astronaut milking robot
was installed in early December 2011. This milestone was occasion for the international manufacturer of agricultural machines to set up a campaign among its clients via YouTube. Users of a Lely Astronaut milking robot were challenged to make an innovative video about their product, the prize for the best one being a voucher worth € 12,500.

Lely was amazed by the large number of submissions, but even more so by their high quality and originality. During the two-month campaign period, a total of 51 videos, from fifteen different countries, were submitted. As a result of the zeal and enthusiasm with which the participants set to work, the campaign was extraordinarily successful. Alexander van der Lely, CEO of the Lely Group: “The enthusiasm of our clients was expressed in the many creative submissions. We are proud that they are so committed to our product and have made such an enormous success of this campaign.”

The videos were assessed by an international jury of Lely marketing employees, under the chairmanship of Alexander van der Lely, CEO of the Lely Group. On 19 January, after meticulous evaluation, the winner of the campaign was informed accordingly. This Swiss participant made the film clip ‘Five past cow’ showing, in a creative and professional manner, the effect that the Astronaut milking robot has had on his family and his dairy farm, thus winning the voucher of €12,500. Those who took second and third places were rewarded with a gift voucher to the value of €2,500.

The winning video and other submissions can be viewed on: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0DBA50D7D51241DC.

About the Lely Group
Lely, founded in 1948, directs all its efforts towards creating a sustainable, profitable and enjoyable future in farming for its customers. Lely is the only company worldwide to supply the agricultural sector with a complete portfolio of products and services ranging from forage harvesting to automated feeding systems, barn cleaners and milking robots. Lely is also working on business concepts to ensure energy-neutral operations in the dairy sector. Since many years Lely is the undisputed market leader in the sales and service of automated milking systems. The company has a strong position in forage harvesting products and with over 60 years unrivalled acquired knowledge in the agricultural cycle Lely has an unrivaled position in agriculture. The Lely Group is active in more than 60 countries and employs some 1,500 people. The annual turnover is around 470 million euro. More information: www.lely.com.

For further information, please contact Els Versluis, International Marketing and Communications Manager Lely Group, eversluis@lely.com, + 31 (0)10 59 96 500.