Opinion: Ramping Up Retail Marketing For Citrus

In this new fiscal year, the Florida Department of Citrus’ (FDOC) integrated marketing plan will emphasize retail programs to increase consumer demand for Florida citrus and accelerate product movement. We will return the FDOC focus to our core competency of marketing while continuing to fund disease research for ongoing projects.

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Swaying Shoppers

FDOC will strategically target the largest supermarket chains that generate more than 50% of U.S. orange juice sales. Shoppers will be reminded of the health and wellness benefits of Florida citrus throughout the shopping experience — from the parking lot to the checkout lane.

Various retail elements will be used to promote orange juice, grapefruit and grapefruit juice, and fresh citrus within stores. “Healthy. Pure & Simple.” messages will appear on television screens and cooler doors while radio announcements remind customers to purchase Florida citrus. FDOC will test innovative retail programs locally to determine viability for future expansion.

Television Efforts

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The 2009–2010 budget supports a robust media plan with national television advertising for Florida orange juice throughout the year and a stronger schedule during the key citrus season. In addition, FDOC will create a new television advertising campaign to promote orange juice in Canada.

Other Outreach

Proactive outreach to media, health professionals, foodservice operators, and consumers will generate increased awareness of all Florida citrus products and motivate consumers to eat and drink Florida citrus every day.

International marketing efforts for grapefruit and grapefruit juice will also focus more heavily on retail programs in Japan, five European countries, and Canada this year. Consumers will be encouraged to try and buy Florida grapefruit through media messages appearing in print, online, and through broadcast channels, as well as at food shows and health fairs.

As the global economy struggles to recover, our industry will continue to face economic challenges. We take our role as stewards of the citrus industry very seriously and strive to be completely transparent and accountable to our stakeholders. As in the past, we will carefully monitor and evaluate all FDOC activities in order to demonstrate a positive return on grower investment. With your continued support, FDOC will work diligently on behalf of Florida growers to ensure the citrus industry remains a key component of Florida’s economic engine for many years to come.

Motivating Marketing Messages

Research helps ensure that our messages resonate with consumers. To build upon the successful “Florida Orange Juice. Healthy. Pure & Simple.” platform, FDOC conducted concept testing to identify the most persuasive consumer health claims for orange juice.

In conjunction with The Richards Group, we developed 15 potential health claims to test. Russell Research conducted an online, nationwide survey of our target consumer: adults, age 35 and older, with a moderate attitude toward health and wellness who are current orange juice drinkers.

Through quantitative analysis, we found the following areas to be important to our target and have the potential to motivate consumption:
• Orange juice is a natural product.
• Orange juice is more nutrient rich than many other fruit juices and contains a unique combination of nutrients.
• Orange juice is full of essential vitamins and nutrients to support your immune system.
• One 8-ounce glass counts as almost 25% of your daily recommended fruit and vegetable servings.

Additional research will be conducted throughout the year to copy test the effectiveness of our television advertisements, to measure consumer response to marketing programs, and to gain additional insight into consumer behavior.

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