The New Jersey Department of Agriculture takes pride in the fact that our state’s produce is as fresh as fresh gets.

That has been our marketing slogan for the past several years and will continue to be an underlying theme in the Department’s communications with consumers and retailers. But this season, our marketing message is that Jersey Fresh is consistently great, year after year. In 2013, Jersey Fresh is having “Another Great Season.”

The co-stars of this campaign are the delicious and nutritious Jersey Fresh fruits and vegetables alongside the New Jersey farmer who painstakingly provides the finest produce to you and your customers.

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture takes pride in the fact that our state’s produce is as fresh as fresh gets. That has been their marketing slogan for the past several years and will continue to be an underlying theme in the Department’s communications with consumers and retailers. (Photos courtesy of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture)For the first time, the NJDA will be reaching foodies and shoppers where they live and breathe — via social media. We will be making inroads into the blogosphere, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. These efforts will help extend the Jersey Fresh message beyond the reach of traditional media. We will be encouraging people to “tag” what Jersey Fresh produce they are buying and where they are buying it.

While Superstorm Sandy was devastating and did a lot of damage along the Jersey shore, many of our beaches are open for business this summer, which means there will be many people in their cars and on the road. Radio is a must in reaching these consumers and encouraging them to visit their nearest retail outlet for fresh produce. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture will be utilizing NJ 101.5 and several shore stations to reach drivers when they are in their cars and likely to stop for some Jersey Fresh, either on their way to the beach or on their way home. Radio ads will begin in late June and continue through Labor Day.

In keeping with the “Another Great Season” theme, new television commercials are being prepared for 2013. These spots will feature a farmer preparing to work the fields, up-tempo music, quick cuts of the many products offered in New Jersey and people enjoying Jersey Fresh produce. Television ads will run in both the New York and Philadelphia markets to reach the largest concentrations of consumers. Spots will run during the height of the Jersey Fresh summer harvest season.

The department has implemented a print ad campaign using a cornucopia of fresh fruit and vegetable photography exhorting retailers to “Turn Customers Into Fans” during our great growing season. The ads will appear in several regional and national trade publications, including The Produce News, and a modified version will appear in consumer publications in New Jersey throughout the year, as appropriate.

Consumer research shows that people are happy to buy Jersey Fresh at the supermarket, if they can easily find it. These studies have shown that people are more likely to buy and more likely to pay more for produce identified as locally grown. And it doesn’t get much more local than Jersey Fresh. Therefore, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture is producing several types of point-of-purchase (POP) materials for retailers that they may use to identify the great New Jersey agricultural products they offer.

Some of the point-of-purchase materials produced include Jersey Fresh price cards in two sizes, vinyl and polysatin banners featuring the same images as the print ads, aprons, hats and bin wraps featuring large Jersey Fresh logos and small Jersey Fresh logo labels.

Reaching retailers on a one-on-one level remains priority in the marketing process. To that end, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture will continue to attend industry trade shows and conventions to promote the state. Shows include the New Jersey State Agricultural Convention, Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey Trade Show, PMA, CPMA and FMI shows, the New England Produce Show and the New York Produce Show. Be sure to look for the Jersey Fresh booth and stop by to say hello. NJDA staff also will conduct visits to retailers.

Finally, all marketing campaigns need to be measured for effectiveness. Coming in late September, the Department, with assistance from a marketing research firm, will be conducting a Consumer Tracking Study involving surveys of more than 800 consumers from across the New Jersey/New York/Pennsylvania region.

Consumers will be asked questions on a variety of topics including advertising impressions and recall, locally grown, social media usage and food safety, to name a few. Based on the results of this study, marketing strategies will be adjusted, as needed, for even greater effectiveness in 2014.

Joe Atchison is NJDA’s agricultural marketing coordinator.