The New York Apple Association is hitting promotions hard this season.
“This year, we have an aggressive trade and consumer media plan,” said Cynthia Haskins, president and CEO of the association, branded as Apples from New York.
The goal is to build awareness of all the state’s apple varieties through TV spots, out-of-home advertising and digital marketing, as well as offering digital assets to retailers.
The association is producing two new commercials to air through traditional media outlets, such as TV and radio, but also social media in targeted markets relevant to the association’s retail partners.
“Farmers are trusted, and we are proud that we can spotlight them as consumers continue to support New York apple growers,” she said.
Filmed in late August, the first commercial will air in fall, focusing on you-pick orchards and cider destinations after a big social media campaign driving consumers to the website’s interactive map of more than 150 destinations, at applesfromny.com/find-apples.
The other commercial will be filmed in September and aired after an early fall social media campaign kicking off the apple harvest season.
The association is tailoring its message to retail buyers and shoppers about how adding New York apples to their lives will benefit them across the board.
“An essential step in convincing someone to embrace a product is showing them the ethos behind the product, where it comes from, and why supporting the New York apple legacy is so impactful—all of which NYAA is spotlighting in its new ads and added merchandising tools for retailers,” Haskins said.
To tell the stories of the apple growers, the association designed new packaging, displays and companion pieces that showcase the orchards, so that shoppers can identify with specifically state-grown apples and the retail partners that carry them.
And, as this year's harvest season kicks off, the association will roll out new high-graphic paper totes along with poly tote bags, pouches and classic poly bags. Adding to the launch, the association will also unveil convenient pop-up merchandisers, tri-wall orchard bins and point-of-sale signs to further share the messaging of New York growers.
The association’s multimedia marketing assets include photo galleries, apple variety information and recipe posts. There are also several videos featuring farmers and how-to recipes.
“Our job is to make our buyers’ and retailers’ jobs easier,” Haskins said.
Also, Haskins said it’s important to show longstanding and new partners how thoroughly New York growers have invested in modern infrastructure and safety protocols.
“Our 600 apple orchards are family-owned, their production is diverse, and each one has high standards for growing practices, storage and handling, food safety and sustainability and environmental responsibility,” she said.
A key piece of this narrative is the stewardship story. These growers depend on the land and resources in their regions to produce delicious apples year after year, and their commitment to maintaining those resources is something retail partners and consumers care about, she said.
The state’s apple industry innovations include high-tech packing houses, packing lines, precision-controlled storage rooms monitoring temperature and oxygen — and the association is using social media to highlight these major investments to the shopper audience and buyers.
This may help reach digital native shoppers, gaining New York apple loyalty with younger consumers.
“As an association, we are shifting our focus from bringing consumers to us, to reaching out to consumers,” Haskins said. “We want to meet people where they are, in terms of the places they hang out, the things that they’re doing, what their interests are, how their diets are trending, and how we can complement their choices.”