USApple Takes First Place At Agricultural Editors’ Awards

Posted by Christina Herrick|August 13, 2014

At the recent 2014 American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) Communications Awards ceremony, U.S. Apple Association (USApple) claimed two awards for digital campaigns it conducted in 2013 and 2014 to engage and educate consumers online and through its social media channels.

USApple received top honors in the Website Category for “AppletizeMe” and in Social Media Category for “28 Days of Apples.”

First Place: Digital & Social Media — Websites
The AppletizeMe campaign launched during the 2013 National Apple Month illustrates the wide array of apple varieties available, along with pairing companions, and healthful benefits. Key website initiatives included an educational website, social media integration, Facebook advertising, and national consumer and trade media outreach. Since its launch, AppletizeMe has garnered or influenced more than 74 million media impressions and more than 6 million impressions.

First Place: Digital & Social Media – Social Media
Through its “28 Days of Apples” initiative, USApple spent each day of the month February — American Heart Month — spotlighting a different way and/or reason apples are healthy for hearts and bodies. The program featured activities and outreach; Twitter and Pinterest pages educating consumers on heart-healthy apple info, recipes, and tips; a Twitter Party featuring guest nutritionists; and consumer and trade media relations outreach. The campaign also provided a platform for USApple’s members to engage and educate their consumer audiences. Each day was “sponsored” by a member or apple-affiliate. The campaign resulted in more than 2.9 million social media impressions.

“As a non-profit, we are constantly striving to reach and educate our consumers in innovative ways. We work equally as hard to put a spotlight on the apple growers, packers and processors that we represent, so it’s wonderful to be recognized for those accomplishments,” says Wendy Brannen, USApple’s director of consumer health and public relations.