CORAL GABLES, Fla. – September 28, 2010 – Del Monte Fresh Produce, North America, Inc. announced today that it is launching a program to help support kindergarten thru 12th grade public school teachers across the U.S., Canada and Central America with cash to purchase school supplies and fresh fruit in its “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” promotion launching this fall, the integrated marketing campaign will be driven by an online contest, housed on www.fruits.com, in which consumers vote for their favorite teacher.
“The Teacher Monday program falls right in line with our company goals to get consumers to eat and live healthy,” said Dennis Christou, Vice President, Marketing, North America for Del Monte Fresh Produce Company. “Teachers are some of the most influential people in our communities. They are also among those who have been hardest hit with budget cuts and layoffs. Many public school teachers pay for school supplies out of their own pockets. We want to take some of that burden off teachers, while also providing them with tools and incentives to incorporate healthy eating messages into their curriculums,” Christou added.
To enter “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” online contest, teachers must register on www.fruits.com then get all their fans, from parents to students, to friends and family, to vote for them. Ten winners will be selected each Monday for five consecutive weeks. Winners are based solely on the number of votes they receive. Winning teachers in the U.S. and Canada will receive $750 in cash to purchase school supplies and $250 in Del Monte fresh fruit coupons for classroom snacks and to use in fruit educational activities.
In an effort to support schools in less developed countries where many Del Monte products are grown, the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” program will link winning North America classrooms with a school in Guatemala or Costa Rica. The 50 selected Central American schools will receive $1,000 each for school improvements and supplies.
“By linking North American and Central American schools, we want to help further the education of students by introducing them to another culture. Our hope is that sister schools will communicate with each other about fun physical activities and their favorite fruit dishes,” said Christou.
Public relations, radio promotions, social marketing, and local events will all support the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” campaign.
Del Monte Fresh Produce on-pack stickers will alert shoppers to the promotion in-store. Promotional stickers will be seen on grapes, bananas, avocados, melons, pineapples and tomatoes. Additionally, colorful point-of-sell (POS) materials will be available for display in produce departments.
Retailers are encouraged to participate in the program by using the Del Monte “Teacher Monday, Cash for Classrooms” logo in their weekly printed and online advertising. Retailers can also get involved to help their local schools win by creating awareness in the community through e-newsletters, web sites and Facebook pages.
To help drive traffic into participating supermarkets, Del Monte will distribute $25 gift certificate booklets for Del Monte fresh produce to consumers in 40 major markets across the U.S. and Canada. Consumers will be notified about the giveaways via Twitter, Facebook, and radio promotions.
Consumers can get contest news, healthy lifestyle tips, fruit educational activities, fruit coupons and much more on Facebook (delmontefreshproduce). Weekly Twitter (delmontefresh) tweets will also direct fans to local retailers who will be giving away Del Monte Fresh Produce gift certificate booklets.
Source: Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.
