19961007
HOLIDAY 'SPIRIT' HELPS LAUNCH OF SNACK FOOD
October 7, 1996
One approach to PR is to seize the moment and bank on it. Food retailer Fresh Express Farms in Salinas, Calif., did just that when it launched a new product last Halloween, hoping to capitalize on the holiday's excitement.
Fresh Express wasn't selling pumpkins or chocolate candy, however. Rather it was pitching its new off-the-stem, seedless red grapes packaged in four-ounce, 79-cent bundles called "Grape Escapes." What better time to launch the product, than a holiday that's based on snacks?
Fresh Express hired Fineman Associates (FA) Public Relations, in San Francisco, Calif., and gave them a month to prepare for the October 1995 launch of the product. The consumer audiences were homemakers, parents and children. The trade audiences were grocery produce managers and Fresh Express brokers.
FA wanted to position the grapes as a "young, hip, fun snack" for kids that mothers would see as a healthy alternative to junk food. The message sent to grocers and brokers was that the product would be extremely popular because of its uniqueness and its nutritional value. Paul Cracknell, director of product development at Fresh Express, says that "combining a product with an opportunity, we got a lot off spin off it. We looked at what the product meant to people, and looked at the alternatives to it. Why not offer this at the perfect time?"
FA created two consumer publicity events in the Northern California area, involving the community: "The Dentist and the School District" and "The Halloween Safety X-Ray."
The Los Altos, Calif., school district had banned Halloween celebrations in school right after FA was hired, so FA wanted someone to stand up for the children, and show that the spirit of the holiday was not forgotten. Michael Fineman, CEO of FA, said that the school ban "kind of fell into our laps, and we pounced on it." FA found a dentist in town who agreed to give Los Altos kids one dollar and a bag of Grape Escape for every pound of candy that kids turned in to him on Halloween.
FA sent press releases about the deal to local media, and about a week later, the school board reversed its decision. Fineman said that the school was already getting negative coverage from its decision, but Fresh Express' celebration definitely added fuel to the fire.
After press inquiries about what to do with the candy, FA developed and distributed more releases, saying that Fresh Express would donate a pound of Grape Escape to the Los Altos School District for each pound of candy the dentist turned in for disposal. FA set up radio and TV interviews, and scheduled media photo shoots at the dentist's office on Halloween.
A Stockton, Calif., hospital agreed to The Halloween Safety X-Ray, which offered a free x-ray screening of candy bags on Halloween night, to check for any harmful objects. Kids who had their bags screened would get packages of Great Escape, passed out by the Grape Escape character, the purple "Grape Ape."
FA created and distributed press releases to consumer food and lifestyle editors at dailies and weeklies, TV news food/consumer product reporters and assignment editors, and radio health and nutrition programs. A letter was sent with each release, tailored to the interests of recipients. After letters were sent, FA conducted follow-up phone calls and scheduled media interviews with Fresh Express execs.
Hearty Results
The consumer publicity efforts resulted in two features on The Today Show, which desribed the grapes as "one of the top 10 new food products to come out this year." FA created special announcements before and after the appearances, for broker and grocer trades.
The product currently is still in test markets, in Northern California, Springfield, Mo. and Chicago. Fresh Express ran into problems trying to source the fruit in the colder months, when grapes are imported from Chile. Cracknell said Fresh Express knew this going into the launch, but "you always have unique challenges with a new product...we are still in a learning stage."
Looking ahead, he said, "We may be using the same ideas down the road, and I hope next time we have more time and money to use all of the ideas FA provided."
FA helped boost consumer product awareness, promoted product trial and generated broker/grocer enthusiasm, mostly with the TV coverage. The product appeared on TV stations in Sacramento, San Jose and Salinas and mentions appeared in newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and about 15 other local papers.
Coverage appeared in food, produce and broker trade publications like Food and Beverage Marketing, Practical Vegetarian and Supermarket News.
Fineman said, "We try to tie our clients to issues and trends of the day, and that's what we did with Grape Escape. It was healthy and fun...we capitalized on the local news and moved quickly." (Fineman, 415/777-6933; Fresh Express, 408/422-5917)