The Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) recently concluded its second annual National Fruits & Veggies Month (NFVM) campaign, a month-long celebration of everyone’s favorite, most flavorful plants – fruits and veggies. Themed Have A Plant® Nation, the innovative campaign generated nearly 75 million impressions throughout September via traditional and social media channels. Success stories from the 2020 NFVM campaign include:59 million impressions from consumer-facing media NFVM wire release announcing campaign launch;12 million potential impressions from thousands of social posts using #haveaplant, #haveaplantpledge and #NFVM2020;4 million potential impressions from the second annual NFVM #haveaplantchat Twitter chat, hosted by PBH Fruit and Vegetable Ambassador in Action, Beau Coffron, Lunchbox Dad;Nearly 3 million impressions from hundreds of social posts across PBH channels, including posts from PBH members and PBH Fruit and Vegetable Ambassadors in Action (FVAA).
These robust results demonstrate the success and profound impact of PBH’s call-to-action to drive consumption and corresponding September theme, Have A Plant® Nation – celebrating the diverse ways we uniquely enjoy fruits and vegetables across the nation while also inspiring greater connectivity and unity. Throughout September, PBH’s plant-packed social content was supported by innovative digital and social activities, compelling video content from PBH’s superstar Fruit and Vegetable Ambassadors in Action, and partnerships with synergistic organizations, like the FMI Foundation and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, on behalf of The Beef Checkoff.
Digital and social content was complemented by an invitation-only Have A Plant® Nation Virtual Influencer Event – the official celebratory finale to NFVM. The exclusive, two-day influencer event was filled with interactive sessions and experiential tasting experiences; included crucial conversations on food safety, the state of consumers’ consumption habits and overall WOW moments of major inspiration; and generated close to 1 million impressions via traditional and social media channels over the course of just a few days.
“PBH’s 2020 NFVM results speak volumes and illustrate that this year’s powerful campaign, Have A Plant® Nation, moved the needle toward increasing fruit and vegetable consumption across the country,” says Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, president and CEO of PBH. “Through the support of our dedicated members and extraordinary Ambassadors, September marked a pivotal moment in driving home the importance of enjoying more plant-packed meals among millions of Americans, each and every day for healthier and happier lives.”
It is not only the PBH’s consumer movement, Have A Plant®, that is gaining attention from influencers and consumers alike. Since its launch in April 2019, PBH’snew and comprehensive digital ecosystemhas experienced enormous growth, with a significant spike in engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic, as consumers spend more time online. In fact, to address consumers’ need for COVID-19 food-related resources, PBH curated a dedicated landing page to address misinformation regarding what is safe to eat during these uncertain times, along with a downloadable Q&A featuring science-driven, expert advice and links to helpful resources on how to properly select, serve, savor and store fruits and vegetables.
“The tremendous growth of PBH’s digital ecosystem is indicative of the overall penetration of the Have A Plant® Movement,” says Katie Calligaro, marketing and communications director of PBH. “The investment that our members and the industry made in 2019 toward enhancing our website, www.fruitsandveggies.org, as well as our social media channels is providing great RIO right now, and we plan to double down on our efforts in 2021 to keep the momentum going. In order to generate true behavior change, we have to meet people at the point of inspiration, and now more than ever, that is happening in the digital space.”
Specifically, from the launch of www.fruitandveggies.org in April 2019 to the launch of the second inaugural NFVM campaign in September 2020, the number of website sessions and pageviews has more than doubled, and this has been complemented by significant organic growth. In fact, traffic from PBH’s social channels to www.fruitsandveggies.org has doubled since the site launch, and direct hits have also increased, indicating more people are bookmarking the site. With cellphone and social media use up 40% during stay-at-home orders[1], the growth of PBH’s consumer audience has reached an all-time high, and was further bolstered by the success of the recent Have A Plant® Nation campaign.
The significant growth of PBH’s website, coupled with the recent success of NFVM, illustrate the far-reaching impact of the viral Have A Plant® Movement. To take advantage of PBH’s digital ecosystem in 2021 and help people enhance their lifestyles by eating more fruits and vegetables, download the newly refreshed 2021 Member Engagement Prospectushere, and join us at the intersection of produce and passion!
For more information on how to engage with PBH and its social content campaigns, as well as PBH’s FVAA and broad-based retail and foodservice influencer network, please contactKatie Calligaro, PBH Marketing and Communications Director.
[1]https://www.statista.com/statistics/1106607/device-usage-coronavirus-worldwide-by-country/
About the Produce for Better Health Foundation
Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is the only national organization dedicated to helping consumers live happier, healthy lives by eating more fruits and vegetables, including fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice, every single day.
Since 1991, PBH has invested decades into developing trended insights on attitudes toward all forms of fruit and vegetable consumption, in addition to campaigns and partnerships with government, food industry stakeholders, health professionals and other thought leaders to collaborate, facilitate and advocate for increased intake. Campaigns included first, the 5-A-Day program, and then, the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters public health initiative. While five fruits and vegetables each day is great advice, and more will always matter, PBH’s new behavior-based call-to-action is Have A Plant®. Rooted in behavioral science, PBH’s transformative Have A Plant® Movement is an invitation that will inspire people with compelling reasons to believe in the powerful role fruits and vegetables can play to create happy, healthy and active lives.
Be sure to join the Have A Plant® Movement and get new recipes, snack hacks, meal ideas and other tips from chefs, registered dietitians, as well as food and wellness experts by visiting www.fruitsandveggies.org. Follow us on Facebook @fruitsandveggies; on Twitter @fruits_veggies; on Instagram @fruitsandveggies; on Pinterest @fruits_veggies; and on LinkedIn at Produce for Better Health Foundation. And remember to #haveaplant.
PBH is also responsible for the Lead The Change Movement — a multi-sector, multi-year initiative designed to maximize the power of PBH’s unique thought leadership position, widespread influencer network, credible scientific and market research, and, most importantly, its innovative members and partners, to lead a call-to-action for addressing the global fruit and vegetable consumption crisis. The initiative includes research, thought leadership and communication platforms to ensure the Movement speaks with One Purpose, One Voice and One Call-to-Action. For more information about the Lead The Change Movement visit: www.fruitsandveggies.org/lead-the-change.
