IRVINE, Calif. – When your marketing budget is dwarfed by a heavy-spending Goliath it’s time take a cue from David. That’s what the California Avocado Commission (CAC) did with its “#BigGameAdd” program this past weekend, joining in the Big Game action on social media by celebrating commercials from food and beverage companies. The Commission took to Twitter to respond to ads in real time throughout the entire game, adding California avocado to advertiser products and serving up tasty recipe ideas.
“With California avocado season beginning now and peak availability expected from March to September, a big media spend around the football championship did not make sense for us”, said Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for CAC. “Social media gave us the opportunity to be part of the Big Game buzz and build excitement for California avocado season.”
The concept: CAC identified the food and beverage brands that would be advertising during the Big Game and created recipes using California avocados with those promoted ingredients. They created fun videos showing consumers how to make the recipes and tweeted them right after the featured commercials aired. CAC even showcased a recipe – Cali-Mex Bowls – using both California avocados and avocados from Mexico, which were advertised during the game.
CAC distributed the news of the #BigGameAdd program to more than 250,000 California avocado fans who subscribe to its recipe newsletter, encouraging a high level of engagement. The social media results were impressive, garnering more than 241,000 impressions in less than 24 hours. Notable retweets came from Butterfinger, Squarespace and Melissa’s Produce. One fan even mentioned “IMO @CA_Avocados is owning #SB50 with its tweets. Forget the commercials!!”
“It required nimbleness and creativity to capture this opportunity, and the resulting consumer engagement was worth it,” said DeLyser. “We don’t usually feature ingredients such as soda, beer and candy in California avocado recipes but for this we stepped out of our comfort zone and into the end zone.”
The Commission rounded-out game day promotions with targeted retailer activities on and offline in California.
About the California Avocado Commission
Created in 1978, the California Avocado Commission strives to increase demand for California avocados through advertising, promotion and public relations, and engages in related industry activities that benefit the state’s nearly 4,000 avocado growers. The California Avocado Commission serves as the official information source for California avocados and the California avocado industry. For nutrition information and recipes visit CaliforniaAvocado.com, or join us on Facebook at Facebook.com/CaliforniaAvocados and @CA_Avocados on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for updates.
Source: California Avocado Commission
