Marketing snapshot - Hortlink 2017, edition 2

This Hort Innovation Apple and Pear Fund marketing snapshot has been taken from Hort Innovation’s Hortlink 2017, edition 2.

Hort Innovation is responsible for investing the apple and pear marketing activity into a range of activities to grow awareness and consumption of the fruits.

COMBINED MARKETING ACTIVITY

Sydney Royal Easter Show 2017

The Sydney Royal Easter Show ran from April 6 to 19, with an estimated 922,000 visitors. With a presence in the Woolworth Food Farm, the apple and pear stand showcased fresh Aussie Apples and Australian Pears, with staff making Kanzi, Jazz, Granny Smith and Royal Gala ‘slinkies’ (spiralised apples) – of which 14,000 were sold – and 2500 pear smoothies. The stand also distributed 6000 recipe cards with ideas for healthy eating and snacking. The Show’s school day was also a success, with orchardist Barney Hyams teaching eight school groups all about growing apples.

APPLE MARKETING ACTIVITY

For Aussie Apples, a robust national marketing campaign is underway using a mix of channels to promote the industry’s new Get Your Crunch On creative and messaging. The campaign is all about encouraging mindful snacking – positioning apples as the go-to healthy snack – building varietal relevance, and generally growing the apple category.

Television campaign – ‘Get Your Crunch On’

A new Aussie Apples television commercial (TVC) first aired on Australian screens on March 25, during the round-six netball coverage on the Nine network. As part of the industry’s partnership with Netball Australia, the TVC will air in excess of 48 times across the netball coverage, right through until the grand final game.

In addition, two heavy bursts of TV advertising were launched alongside the netball coverage, to take the Aussie Apples message to the widest possible audience. Running across television networks 7, Nine and Ten, as well as Foxtel, the schedule began on March 26 for eight weeks. It captures strongly rated shows popular with the Aussie Apples target audience (grocery buyers aged 25 to 54), ranging from My Kitchen Rules to This Is Us.

See the TVC here.

Netball Australia activity

There are many elements to Aussie Apple’s partnership with Netball Australia. Highlighting this, on March 26 and April 2, the full ‘Get Your Crunch On’ promotion was activated at two televised netball games in Sydney (with 90,900 viewers) and Melbourne (with 80,400 viewers). This involved a team, including the industry’s Mr Crunch mascot, handing out apples and promoting Aussie Apples. There was also a social media competition to upload photos of crunching on apples, to win tickets to the netball finals.

Out-of-home advertising

From April 13, the 30-second TVC advertising moved temporarily from television to out-of-home advertising, to avoid the low rating TV period during the Easter holidays. As a result, the campaign was screened at 150 movie cinemas nationally, in the previews to blockbuster movies such as Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and more. It was also shown on 100 digital panels nationally, with activity set for seven weeks.

Digital and social media

• Digital advertising. Beginning in April, the Aussie Apples digital activity kicked off with encouraging results. The activity has complimented the TV campaign, with both 15-second and 30-second Aussie Apples ads running as video ‘pre-rolls’ across a number of placements to help build reach and awareness for Aussie apples. In just the first three weeks, the ad was served to over 250,000 people, with an average completion rate of close to 70 per cent, which is fantastic by industry standards.

• Facebook. With social media, the fans who come to the Aussie Apples Facebook page (www.facebook.com/AussieApples) continue to enjoy sharing their favourite recipes, and are highly engaged in discussions around the versatility of apples and how they’re a great snack for on the move.
• Website. The consumer-facing Aussie Apples website (www.aussieapples.com.au) is currently being refreshed to bring it in line with the Get Your Crunch on campaign. The new site will incorporate videos, enhanced imagery and a grower portal.
  
  

PEAR MARKETING ACTIVITY

MyFoodBook partnership

Hort Innovation is continuing the Australian Pears partnership with MyFoodBook (www.myfoodbook.com.au), following successful results in 2016. The MyFoodBook recipe and cookbook community includes more than 200,000 subscribers, and promotes recipes to more than 2.8 million people each month.

Australian Pears recipes have recently been updated and now cover consumer favourites ‘baking’, ‘snacks’ and ‘salads’. These recipes are hosted on MyFoodBook and at www.rediscoverthepear.com.au, and will be utilised in other aspects of the marketing campaign.

In April, the Grilled Pear, Rocket and Prosciutto Salad recipe achieved a remarkable result on MyFoodBook with over 2300 views, over 100 likes, shares and pins on Pinterest, plus over 50 ‘extended actions’, where consumers saved, exported or shared the recipe.

For Mother’s Day, a special-edition e-book was also released featuring a Pear and Oat Slice with Australian Pears recipe.

MyFoodBook have also featured pears in its ‘What’s in Season’ section, which explains how to cook with pears, pear varieties and how to choose the right pear.

Print coverage

Australian Pears have featured in a double-page spread in the May edition of Fitness First Magazine, with a full-page advertisement positioned alongside an editorial piece explaining how Australian Pears assist in maintaining good stomach health. The magazine reaches 116,000 people.

Out-of-home advertising

Australian Pears digital advertising is currently appearing across 263 gyms nationwide. Mirror and door decals have also been placed in 20 of the busiest gyms in Australia, featuring Australian Pears Healthy Choice Smoothie advertising (which positions pear-based smoothies as ‘The pearfect end to the perfect workout’. The gym locations were picked based on their proximity to food grocers and major retailers, and will reach in excess of 600,000 people per week across six weeks of activity.

Digital advertising

The out-of-home Australian Pears activity is being complemented by digital activity, launched on April 2. This campaign is making use of existing MyFoodBook content and targeting users who are on their mobile phones while at the gym (this involves using a phone’s location to deliver relevant messaging, via high-impact mobile ads). The mobile ads are expected to yield over 1.8 million impressions over an eight-week period.

New Australian Pears ambassador

Popular dietitian Joanna McMillan has been welcomed as the new ambassador for Australian Pears, and will begin to promote pears messaging – stay tuned for an update in the next Hortlink.