PMA Announces Funding For Major Produce Marketing Program

cam newton

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is one of a number of high-profile spokespeople for the new FNV produce marketing program.

The produce industry is about to get into brand marketing in a big way. The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) has announced the launch of a new promotional campaign designed to take a page from the marketing strategies of big-money consumer brands like Nike and Apple.

PMA has committed $1 million in 2015 to help fund the new Partnership For A Healthier America initiative, FNV, which will promote fruits and vegetables to teens and young adults with the types of marketing messages they’re familiar with.

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“We want to make fruits and vegetables, cool, convenient, and culturally resonant. This sells community; it doesn’t preach health,” said Sunkist Growers Vice President of Marketing and PMA Chair Kevin Fiori in a conference call announcing the program’s launch on Feb. 26, 2015.

“We’re turning fruits and veggies into one big iconic brand called ‘FNV,’” said Victors & Spoils chief marketing officer Andy Nathan. “We want to create more emotional resonance around fruits and vegetables, with the goal of increasing consumption and sales of fruits and vegetables.”

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FNV will use a bold logo, “Superhero meets a sports brand,” Nathan said. The logo will be used in advertising, marketing materials, social media, and even apparel, including shirts and hats.

“We’re promoting the concept, ‘Eat, Share, Wear,’” he said.

The marketing campaign will be tongue in cheek, with edgy messages like “Prepare To Be Marketed To.” The campaign recognizes the fact that there’s already brand awareness of fruits and vegetables, and acknowledges that it’s high time produce begins to carry itself like all the other consumer goods that market to this audience every day across every media platform.

FNV has launched a website, TeamFNV.com, along with social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

The angle of the program that will likely get the most attention initially is the high-profile celebrity endorsers FNV has signed on, including a number of NFL (Cam Newton, Victor Cruz, Colin Kaepernick) and NBA stars (Stephen Curry and Jeff Green), as well as actors Kristen Bell and Jessica Alba, musician Nick Jonas, and wrestler John Cena. The celebrities were chosen specifically to appeal to consumers ages 11-18.

The program is really focused on trying to get consumer engagement, and will even have tools on the website that let consumers upload a photo from social media and create their own “endorsement deal” for their favorite fruit or vegetable, just like their celebrity heroes.

There are also plans for premium branded fruits and vegetables tied to the celebrity endorsers – Beets by Jessica Alba, or Victor Cruz tomatoes, for example.

FNV is a complementary program to the Eat Brighter campaign, which licensed Sesame Street characters to get kids excited about produce. Eat Brighter will continue.

Experience with Eat Brighter showed that licensed characters can get kids to consume produce, and the thinking is that the FNV program is simply taking the next step and bringing in “real-life characters” for a slightly more mature audience.

Initial efforts will focus on social media, and FNV will kick off this spring with a full-scale campaign in two local markets, Fresno, CA, and Hampton Roads, VA, including print and television campaigns. The program is partnering with Nielsen to evaluate the two launches and gather data to improve future programs.

“We are finally going to operate like a big iconic brand,” said PMA President Cathy Burns.

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