Marketing spotlight 2021/22

Growing demand for Aussie grapes at home and abroad

Hort Innovation is responsible for investing the table grape marketing levy into a range of activities to drive awareness and consideration. Here’s a quick look at some of the activities and achievements in 2021/22.

In 2021/22, the Taste Australia consumer marketing program for Australian Table Grapes ran from early April to the end of June in eight markets, including Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The campaign was successfully managed across the different markets, with the primary objective to build awareness and preference for the premium commodity while driving sales in stores. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions and supply chain disruptions, the campaign did face several delays in the execution of the different activities, both offline and online.

The program was designed with a full suite of marketing activities, including:

• Season launch event across several markets
• A retail program inclusive of sales-driven activities, such as in-store displays, display competition, gift-with-purchase and samplings
• Online promotions to reach a wider audience and boost sales via e-commerce platforms or retailers’ websites.

Here is a snapshot of how the Australian Tables Grapes campaign was launched in different markets:

Japan

The Taste Australia campaign started with a season launch event hosted in an Australian restaurant in Tokyo, with the presence of local trade partners, importers and representatives from Austrade and the Australian Embassy. This event was followed by a retail program across multiple retail stores with an extensive array of activities, such as in-store displays, samplings, recommendation sales and promotional deals.

South Korea

This year’s campaign focused on in-store display and sampling activities. Three major retailers (E-Mart, Lotte Mart and HomePlus) participated in the retail program to enhance the brand awareness of Taste Australia’s program and boost sales.

China

Due to the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai and Guangzhou from March to early June 2022, the decision was made to cancel both in-person events at the wholesale markets and hold an online event as a safe alternative. The online event allowed industry media and trade partners nationwide to gather in a virtual space. This event was a success, with 70 attendees thanks to the collaboration with the Victorian Government.

Vietnam

To capitalise on the success of previous Taste Australia campaigns in Vietnam, a range of offline and online activities were conducted from April to June 2022 to promote Australian Table Grapes and boost sales. The scope of work was split across an online launch event, a retail program with sales-driven activities, support to importers and a media event in collaboration with Austrade, who co-funded the program in Vietnam.

Thailand

The campaign focused on the retail program and the support of local trade partners. A total of nine retail chains participated in the program through various activities such as in-store displays, samplings, display competition, gift-with-purchase, and online promotions. While it was not part of the initial plan, Australian Table Grapes received further promotion amongst the general public through the participation in the Australian Fine Foods Fair with Austrade and the opening ceremony of a new Big C store in Pattaya.

Indonesia

A media launch event at a major retailer was the initial introduction of the campaign to both trade partners and industry media, with the participation of Austrade representatives. This initiative was followed by a retail program across four of the biggest retail chains, accompanied by the deployment of point-of-sale materials, retail promotions and push-selling activities by trained staff members.

Malaysia

The Taste Australia “Embrace Grapeness” campaign was launched to create awareness about Australian grapes’ wide variety and premium nature while communicating their taste, health benefits and seasonality. A multi-layered approach was undertaken through the organisation of a virtual media event, which highlighted the arrival of the produce to market. This was supported through the delivery of a comprehensive retail program that included in-store displays, display competition, gift-with-purchase, and sampling activities.

The Philippines

An all-inclusive program was conducted in the Philippines through several activities, such as the organisation of a season launch event at the Hilton hotel in Manila, the distribution of point of sale materials across five retail partners, sampling activities and other sales-related promotions. The promotion of Australian Table Grapes was also extended online through retailers’ websites and social media channels.

Domestic activity

Continuing with the existing campaign ‘A Bunch of Joy’, this season, messaging communicated the three core product attributes of taste, quality, and convenience. A strong call to action was used to drive awareness of peak season in each region.

The media approach targeted main grocery buyers 35-64 years old, with activities across the full path to purchase that supported the start of peak season in February. Channels used included digital display advertising, national radio advertising, social media advertising and Woolworths retail media (front-of-store screens, in-store radio and online via digital display advertising).

Some highlights from the campaign were:

• A national radio advertisement communicated Australian grapes’ quality and taste profile and provided a call-to-action for each region. The advertising ran across Australian Radio Network and Southern Cross Austereo in five capital cities and WA markets. The activity reached over six million Australians.
• Digital display advertising promoted the quality and taste profile of grapes and showcased a series of delicious product and recipe images. The advertising featured across YouTube and NewsCorp-owned platforms. The national campaign delivered 523,381 impressions, and the WA campaign delivered 296,390 impressions.
• Social media posts on Facebook served 15.8 million opportunities to see the content, reached over 2.6 million Australians and achieved over 2.7 million engagements.
• Australian Grapes partnered with Woolworths to advertise on screens across the front of the store, on their in-store radio and online. These placements spoke to shoppers, reminding them to put Grapes in their baskets. The in-store activity drove high impressions (over 17 million), reached over 4.7 million Australians an average of 2.3 times and contributed to $2.7 million in sales and 455,700 transactions. The online activity delivered 533,900 impressions, reached 91,600 Australians and contributed to $4.1 million in sales and 701,200 transactions.

In 2021/22 the Hort Innovation Marketing function underwent a significant shift in their approach to investing marketing levies. You can read more about this in the 2021/22 Hort Innovation Company Annual Report at  www.horticulture.com.au/annual-report-portal.