Vidalia Onion Marketing Group Hires Public Relations Firm

Vidalia, GA. December 15, 2010. The Vidalia® Onion Committee (VOC) is pleased to announce the addition of the Langston Libby Group of Atlanta, GA, to its marketing team. The decision comes after an extensive search involving some of the best PR firms in the country, from boutique agencies with heavy produce and commodity experience to large marketing companies that have launched many of Corporate America’s most recognizable national campaigns.

Wendy Brannen, executive director of the Vidalia, GA-based group, headed the search and says the way the new hire happened was a surprise even to her. Steve Langston, the Atlanta-based marketer who facilitated the committee’s well-known DreamWorks Shrek deal in 2010, contacted her a few days after the formal search had begun. “Steve called me, as usual, brimming with excitement and a fresh batch of ideas for 2011. I told him the VOC was in the process of seeking the right agency partner for next year and that we needed to sort that out before I could talk tactics.” Langston asked if he could throw his hat in the ring, to which Brannen was receptive so long as the deal included not only his creative plan but also the capacity to see it through.

“Melissa Libby is an agency veteran specializing in food-related public relations,” says Langston. “I knew if I could get Melissa on board, we would form a partnership that would perfectly suit the VOC’s marketing needs. And, we’re Georgia people working to promote Georgia’s Official State Vegetable, so we’re invested all the way.” With Langston’s food marketing and cross-promotions experience and Libby’s public relations know-how, the VOC agreed.

“We have been very meticulous with this process,” Brannen said. “Just narrowing down the firms to which we would send a request for proposal (RFP) took a lot of homework, and then we gave those agencies ample time to submit a plan that would wow us.” Brannen narrowed down a small group of firms to present in person to a marketing subcommittee December 9, and firms were notified of the Committee’s decision December 14.

Sahlman Williams has been the VOC’s agency of record for four years. Of hiring a new firm this year, Brannen admits both she and the Committee felt strongly that a move was necessary but says she will miss working with her account rep, Ashley Lansdale, who Brannen characterizes as having been a bright, loyal, and hard-working part of the Vidalia team. Heidi McIntyre of McIntyre Marketing, Rockledge, Florida, has been a key player in the VOC’s retail marketing efforts the past four years and will remain in that position.

The Vidalia® Onion Committee was established in 1989 as Federal Marketing Order No. 955. The order authorizes production research, marketing research and development, and marketing promotion programs. The VOC administers the order locally and consists of eight producer members and their alternates and one public member and an alternate.

Source: Vidalia Onion Committee