ORLANDO, FL – Produce for Kids announced at a PMA Fresh Summit reception that it will be embracing a new digital strategy to better reach busy shoppers on a year-round basis and during its annual promotional campaigns. The new strategy will include simplified in-store POS displays, a website redesign that includes mobile optimization and more exposure for participating sponsors and retailers, and an aggressive social media strategy.
A focus group hosted by Produce for Kids this summer showed that moms are interested in quick and easy meals, are very active on their smart phones and are extremely connected to social media. According to a recent study conducted by the Marketing to Moms Coalition, 44 percent of moms use a smartphone for recipes and meal planning.
“With the rise of the digital era, shoppers are glued to their phones, tablets and laptops, and reaching them is harder than ever,” said Founder and President of Produce for Kids, John Shuman. “With these new initiatives, we’ll be better equipped to reach shoppers during campaigns and year-round to spread the healthy eating message and bring value to our sponsors and retailers.”
Produce for Kids will expand online marketing initiatives by redesigning and mobile optimizing produceforkids.com to enhance and simplify shoppers’ experience. New features on the website will include all new design and functionality, a recipe/ingredient search, meal planning tools, more social media sharing options, more exposure for sponsors and retail partners through dedicated landing pages, and a new educational section on how to pick, store and prepare produce.
To meet the needs of today’s mom, Produce for Kids will also be migrating the current Parents on Produce article section of the website over to a blog format. This new format will feature helpful articles written by experts from Parents on Produce and guest bloggers who align with the Produce for Kids mission.
“We know today’s generation of moms aren’t storing recipes in their countertop recipe boxes anymore, most are relying on their mobile devices and social networks like Facebook and Pinterest for recipes and healthy eating tips and advice,” said Amanda Keefer, manager public relations and social media at Produce for Kids. “Providing shoppers with information while they’re in store will be key to the communication process.“ Both the website and mobile sites are scheduled to launch in May 2013 to kick off the spring Get Healthy, Give Hope campaign.
In 2013, Produce for Kids will continue its successful media partnership with Sprout TV, the popular 24-hour preschool television channel reaching 55 million homes. Last year’s partnership included two national television spots that ran during the campaign, in-store Sprout character appearances, web banners on sproutonline.com and more. Details of the 2013 partnership are being confirmed, but intend to include current components and more.
Produce for Kids will continue to grow the existing components of the campaigns in 2013, including a new point of sale unit; expanding presence on social media; exposure in national, trade and local media; extensive blogger outreach year-round; access to communications toolkits for sponsors and retailers during campaigns and retailer circular ads promoting the campaign and sponsors’ products. Grocery store partners participating in the 2013 Get Healthy, Give Hope campaign are being confirmed. A full list of retailers will be available by January 2013.
About Produce for Kids
Produce for Kids® encourages healthy eating among families by providing simple, healthy meal solutions and resources for parents, while raising funds for local children’s non-profit organizations. Since its creation in 2002 by Shuman Produce Inc., Produce for Kids has raised more than $3.7 million to benefit kids. To learn more about Produce for Kids and healthy eating, visit www.produceforkids.com, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.
About Sprout®
Available in over 50 million homes, Sprout is the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for children ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers. The 24-hour digital channel, which launched in September 2005 along with the website (SproutOnline.com), is the only channel that follows the day of a preschooler from breakfast to bedtime with its distinctive, interactive programming and original hosted blocks. Sprout’s VOD offering is the #1 on demand service for younger children with over one billion views. Sprout is a partnership among NBCUniversal, PBS, Sesame Workshop and Apax Funds. Its program lineup of gold-standard, curriculum-based preschool shows includes: Sesame Street®, Bob the Builder™, Barney & Friends™, The Wiggles®, Caillou®, Pajanimals™, Thomas & Friends™, LazyTown™, and more. www.SproutOnline.com, www.facebook.com/Sprout, www.twitter.com/SproutTV
Source: Produce for Kids
