Marketing snapshot - Hortlink 2017, edition 2

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

Hort Innovation is responsible for a range of industry marketing activities to grow awareness and consumption of Australian passionfruit, using the passionfruit marketing levy.

Since February, in the lead-up to peak winter season, there was a focus on refreshing the creative assets used to inspire and engage consumers in the promotion of passionfruit. This involved shooting a video on how to make – and then ‘finish the dish’ – with passionfruit curd, plus building a catalogue of images for its use in recipes including cupcakes, melting moments and passionfruit curd tarts.

Other activities included:

• Preparing a winter peak season media release
• Developing two new health-focused passionfruit graphics
• Preparing winter peak season hampers.

These assets will be used to entice media and bloggers to write about the many delicious ways to enjoy passionfruit during winter – in turn encouraging their readers and consumers to buy more passionfruit. Assets will also be shared in Aussie Passionfruit social media channels. Look for updates on this activity in future editions of Hortlink.

Public relations/media update

So far, media outreach for the 2016/2017 year has resulted in some 180 pieces of passionfruit coverage in traditional and online media – combined, reaching an audience of over eight million people.

Outreach to ‘long-lead’ media (for example magazines, which prepare content well in advance) commenced in April, with the view to getting passionfruit covered in winter editions. So far interest has been good, with magazines such as Recipes+ and Australian Women’s Weekly confirming their interest in including passionfruit.

The next steps for the PR activity include distributing the winter media release, images and recipe inspiration to mid- and short-lead media to generate coverage for passionfruit.

Social media activity

• Facebook. The Aussie Passionfruit Facebook page (www.facebook.com/AussiePassionfruit) continues to provide the public with useful seasonal information, picking, storage, health, inspirational recipes and usage tips as well as insights into the industry and growers. It also provides a forum for passionfruit fans to ask any questions and get advice. The page has strong engagement rates, with fans liking, commenting and sharing posts at a rate well above the industry benchmark. Recent popular posts have included a quick passionfruit vanilla slice recipe that reached nearly 28,800 people and inspired 250 people to share the post on their own social media pages.

• Instagram. The Aussie Passionfruit Instagram account (@aussiepassionfruit) shares inspiring imagery of fresh Aussie passionfruit, paired with handy tips, seasonal information and farming information. The account builds the passionfruit industry’s presence within the Instagram community and inspires Instagram users to use passionfruit in new ways while demonstrating how versatile they are. Between February and the start of May, the account’s fanbase grew by six per cent.

The Sydney Royal Easter Show

Running from April 6 to 19, the Sydney Royal Easter Show was a great opportunity to showcase passionfruit, with 922,000 people attending the event (a 20 per cent increase from the previous year, and the highest since 2004).

As part of the tropical fruits exhibit, Aussie Passionfruit enjoyed a great position right inside the main entrance of the Woolworths Pavilion – the busiest pavilion at the show. Samples of passionfruit were handed out together with a passionfruit recipe brochure, while brand ambassadors communicated key messages to consumers.

A total of 21,400 passionfruit samples were distributed, as well as 40,000 brochures, and feedback about both the fruit and the stand was overwhelmingly positive.