The California Avocado Commission says its marketing campaign, which includes consumer advertising, social media, public relations and influencer activities, is running at full speed this spring, with advertising impressions through April alone exceeding 31 million. The commission is also offering customized programs for participating retailers and foodservice operators.
“California avocado social media is hitting way out of the park this season,” said Terry Splane, CAC vice president of marketing, in a release. “For example, our ‘Now in Season' video skyrocketed on TikTok with more than 1 million views. The platform currently ranks that video in the top 25% in impressions, clicks and click-through rate, meaning it outranks 75% of all videos in the industry.”
CAC's public relations and influencer efforts this spring have aimed to create excitement about the fruit's availability and have included a story on California avocados sent to regional media outlets, an influencer event at Bristol Farms in Santa Barbara, Calif., a California avocado grove tour for media, influencers and customers as well as partnerships with influencers to create branded content to share on their social platforms.
CAC says collectively, these PR and influencer activities have resulted in coverage of California avocados with a reach of more than 170 million impressions.
To promote the fruit's peak season time frame, CAC says it is supporting California Avocado Month in June through the distribution of a press release to regional consumer media as well as two broadcast segments in Fresno and Sacramento, Calif.
The commission also partnered with influencers who have developed California Avocado Month-themed content that is running across their platforms and have worked with retailers and foodservice operators to help them develop and promote California avocado content on their social channels. Other spring and summer customer programs include advertising and social media support, sales and display contests and more.
“The California avocado crop was about 40% harvested by the end of May, and CAC has a robust program of advertising and promotion to support the remaining volume continuing into this summer,” Splane said.
Spring through summer is the peak availability of California avocados. The commission's crop forecast calls for strong volume in June and most of July, ranging from 11 million to nearly 17 million pounds per week. CAC says the harvest is expected to wind down gradually from August into September.
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