A snapshot of the 2023/24 macadamia marketing campaign

Hort Innovation is responsible for investing the macadamia marketing levy into a range of activities to drive awareness and consumption. These activities were managed by our partner team at the Australian Macadamia Society, in consultation with the Australian Macadamias Marketing Committee. Here is a quick look at what happened during 2023/24… 

The macadamia marketing program continued to focus on three strategic priorities during the year: 

1. Strong and unique Australian branding – the Australian Macadamias brand continued to spotlight Australia as the original home of macadamias, emphasising this unique selling point to differentiate from other producers. This branding strategy aimed to reinforce Australia's sustainable competitive advantage in the global market.
   
   
2. Driving innovation among the food and beverage manufacturing sector – the marketing program actively engaged with R&D and marketing professionals through innovation news, consumer research insights, and promotion highlights. It provided tools and resources to enhance the integration of macadamias into new food and beverage products, showcasing the nut's versatility and health benefits.
   
   
3. Providing consumer inspiration – through targeted social media and public relations campaigns, the program highlighted the taste, health benefits, and versatility of macadamias, promoting their use in various culinary applications and reinforcing the narrative of Australia as the authentic origin of macadamias. 

The 2023/24 marketing efforts were concentrated in five major markets: Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. The strategy involved a mix of trade and consumer-focused communication: 

• Trade communication – the Australian Macadamias trade website continued to serve as a central hub for news, with 17 new stories added in multiple languages. The monthly trade e-newsletter, The Macadamia Review, was distributed to nearly 3,000 global subscribers. LinkedIn and WeChat remained crucial platforms for reaching decision-makers in the food and beverage industry.
  
  
• Consumer campaigns – consumer outreach was executed through localized Australian Macadamias websites, social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, Weibo, WeChat, and RED), as well as PR efforts in Australia which resulted in significant media coverage across various channels, further amplifying the macadamia message. 

Insights that shaped the campaign 

• Intensifying global competition: with the global macadamia supply continues to outpace demand, the campaign emphasised the need to differentiate Australian macadamias by promoting their provenance and superior quality. 

• Expanding the domestic market: given that the domestic market accounts for 30 per cent of Australian macadamia kernel sales but has a household penetration rate of only 14 per cent, there is a considerable opportunity to boost local consumption through increased awareness and support for Australian growers. 

• Growing ingredient market: as ingredient-style kernels continue to outpace snack-style growth, marketing efforts targeted food and beverage manufacturers to encourage innovation using macadamias as a key ingredient. 

• Raising global awareness: despite strong brand recognition in some regions, there is still significant potential to educate consumers worldwide about the benefits of macadamias in terms of health, taste, and versatility. 

What the campaign looked like in market 

Trade 

• Australian Macadamias trade website - available in English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, this is the central trade news hub, and 17 new stories were added over the past 12 months, with content covering a host of topics including product innovation, sustainability, promotion highlights, health news and crop forecasts. These stories tell the multi-layered story of Australian grown macadamias to food and beverage manufacturers globally, providing compelling reasons for their adoption as an ingredient in products that meet the needs of today’s consumers. 

• Trade e-newsletter – distributed monthly in English, Japanese, Korean and Traditional Chinese, The Macadamia Review shares the latest trade news with a global audience of almost 3,000 subscribers. 

• LinkedIn – weekly organic LinkedIn content is supported by a paid campaign targeting decision makers in the global food and beverage industry. 

• WeChat – continues to be the primary channel for communicating news with the trade in China. 

• Macadamia marketing toolkit – developed specifically for use by the commercial sector, containing more than 200 assets to support Australian macadamia industry sales and marketing teams with their own organisations’ marketing programs. 16 new resources were added to the Toolkit during 2023/24 including research presentations, fact sheets and an Australian macadamia handling and storage guide in multiple languages.  

• Industry publications – Australian macadamia trade news stories are regularly shared with selected industry publications to further amplify key messaging.  

 Consumer

• Social media 

• Facebook active in Australia,  Japan, Taiwan and South Korea with a combined following of almost 204,000. 

• X: active in Japan and Australia – with a combined following of more than 11,600. 

• Instagram: active in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia – with a combined following of more than 25,800.  

• Weibo, WeChat and RED: active in China – with a combined following of more than 158,600  

• YouTube: active in Australia and Japan with more than 1,100 subscribers and more than 101,900 video views  

 What did we achieve? 

• The Original Macas – a consumer-focused campaign titled "The Original Macas Down Under" generated 163 media pieces, reaching 46.8 million opportunities to see and gaining significant traction through a TODAY show exclusive and a social media campaign with 1.44 million impressions. 

• Macadamias Make It Special – the largest-ever domestic campaign saw over 85 million impressions and contributed to a 17 per cent increase in domestic sales. The campaign included collaborations with notable Australian media and personalities, leading to industry recognition. 

• Major brand collaborations – activity in Japan and South Korea with brand collaborations including Meiji and Halff Coffee, along with influencer tours in the Northern Rivers, resulted in over 9 million combined impressions. In Taiwan, occasion-based content drove high engagement, aligning macadamias with key cultural celebrations. 

• Trade show presence – Australian Macadamias participated at the Shoei trade show in Tokyo showcased macadamia products to 3,800 representatives from Japan's food and beverage sector, highlighting their application in innovative culinary products. 

• Increased online engagement - LinkedIn and WeChat audiences grew significantly, with LinkedIn followers increasing by 25 per cent to over 4,800 and WeChat followers doubling to over 5,000 in China. 

• Enhanced trade resources – the macadamia marketing toolkit expanded with 16 new resources, supporting industry stakeholders with updated marketing materials and guidelines.