Nov
24
For nearly six years now I’ve had the honor (and yes, I do feel it’s an honor) to work within the produce industry for an amazing company (
Stemilt Growers – home of world famous apples, pears, cherries, peaches, nectarines and blueberries). Every year the industry comes together for it’s annual Fresh Summit trade show sponsored by the
Produce Marketing Association. In October, more than 19,000 individuals within the produce industry converged on Anaheim, CA to check out the latest in new produce, new marketing techniques, new packaging ideas, etc. It was an amazing convention where the best of the industry was showcased.
New "Wonderful Pistachios" packaging and display in Safeway
One of the items announced at the show was a marketing / advertising push to promote pistachios by Paramount Farms called Get Crackin’. What made the announcement especially noteworthy was the scale in which they were going to promote pistachios. The first element of the plan was TV ads that use humor to create interest and awareness in a nut that most people don’t think a lot about. Secondly, they developed sleek packaging that has a premium look and highlights the health aspects of pistachios. The third component incorporated social media via a Twitter page, Facebook page, and blog. To leverage their TV spots with their online social media presence, they also tied in a video contest for consumers to come up with their own content to show how they “crack open a pistachio.”
Total price tag for the TV ads, new packaging design, online efforts and contest: $15 million.
Not bad for some pistachio growers eh? While there are definitely skeptics out there regarding whether or not the ROI will be there – I have to give Paramount Farms a hand for going big. In a category that doesn’t get any news, they created a buzz that is unique and has as deep of a reach as you could ask for given their dual efforts via TV and social media (I’m not sure if they did any print ads – but I’m assuming at some level they have).
In the short term this is definitely a win for Paramount for two main reasons:
- Paramount is making Pistachios new again. Just like aviation sunglasses coming back into style, they’re bringing back a fresh product that hasn’t been thought of in a while, and making it stylish, healthy, and interesting. Great stuff.
- In addition to getting consumers excited, Paramount did a great job of creating interest and buzz with retailers. Without the retailer’s buy-in you can’t do a thing, but if they believe in what your doing, you’ve got your avenue for additional sales. The picture above is the display our local Safeway store did for the new Wonderful Pistachios – but in the last month I’ve been to quite a few Safeway’s throughout Washington state, and this was a small one compared to what I saw elsewhere. When was the last time you saw a pistachio display this big in stores?
And I should note – their promotion intrigued me enough that I was compelled to buy my first ever bag of pistachios. Until this campaign if I had a hankering for nuts, I’d go with plain, unsalted peanuts. Never had a pistachio in my life up until today, and definitely didn’t realize they were that healthy. Two thumbs up from this new pistachio convert - I’ll be buying more in the future.
In the days to come. Paramount will need to keep reinventing ways to spread the good news about their Wonderful Pistachios (isn’t that the never ending focus of marketing – continually creating touch points with the end consumer?). Given their fresh approach to promoting pistachios with this campaign, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing some fun things from this group in the future. I also have a feeling they will be successful at moving the dial with their brand of Wonderful Pistachios as well as the pistachio category as a whole.
And just a quick reminder – if you want in on that video contest you have until 11/29/09 to show how you crack open your pistachios – $25,000 is up for grabs!
Tags: Advertising, get crackin', Marketing, Paramount Farms, pistachios, wonderful pistachios
Posted in Business Marketing
Posted by Brian Vertrees
