Editor’s note: This story is part of a series that ran in Insight magazine looking at how several Iowa and Illinois companies use influencer marketing. John Deere has half-a-million new fans, and they ...

John Deere has half-a-million new fans, and they’ve come from an unlikely source. The Moline, Illinois-based agriculture giant is one of many companies to embrace the idea of hiring an influencer to ...

Editor's note: This story is part of a series that ran in Insight magazine looking at how several Iowa and Illinois companies use influencer marketing.

Deere decided to call their new social media guru their Chief Tractor Officer and during the hiring process, used the likeness of Brock Purdy — a standout quarterback at Iowa State University who now ...