The California Avocado Commission announced the winners of its advertising and display contests for 2013, which ran concurrently from May 1 through Sept. 11 to encompass the period of American summer holidays that included Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Flag Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. Save Mart Supermarkets earned the top spot in CAC’s advertising contest and Food Town store No. 7 in Houston claimed the grand prize in the display contest.

This California avocado display at Sprouts Farmers Market shows CAC display bins, patriotic bunting, complementary produce and tomatoes to spell out 'CA. AVO.' “Retailer advertising and display support is a vital component in the promotion of California avocados,” said Jan DeLyser, CAC vice president of marketing. “We develop retailer incentive programs to encourage that support and to thank those retailers who are strong supporters of California avocados.”

The ad contest encouraged retailers to merchandise and feature California avocados, resulting in 162 ads during the contest period, with 112 featuring the Hand Grown in California logo. That logo identification helps shoppers know the country of origin of the avocados the retailer is promoting. Recent research conducted by Bovitz Inc. indicates that in CAC’s advertising markets the number of shoppers who check for country of origin on avocados has grown significantly in the last two years, from 30 percent in 2011 to 45 percent in 2013.

Retailers registered for the CAC’s advertising contest earned points for every California avocado ad they ran during the qualification period. They also received bonus points for using the Hand Grown in California logo and for ads during key American summer holiday promotion periods.

Save Mart Supermarkets in California accumulated 172 points. Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market came in second place with 162 points. Along with Lucky Supermarkets (North California), Bashas’ Supermarkets (Phoenix), Cardenas Markets (South California), Jons Marketplace (South California), Safeway (North California), Stater Brothers (South California) and Vallarta Supermarkets (South California), they earned the “tier 1 prize” of an Apple iPad Mini ($400 value). Seventeen retailers were awarded prizes.

For CAC’s 2013 retail display contest there were 31 qualified entrants who submitted photos with displays featuring California avocado point-of-sale material. Displays were judged on the following criteria: size of display, use of ripe California avocados, use of California avocado point-of-sale and overall creativity. Each qualified entry received a $25 Amazon.com gift card, and 15 stores with the top point totals each received a Canon digital camera ($200 value).

The grand prize winner, Food Town store No. 7 in Houston, was chosen at random from the 31 entrants. They received an Apple iPad® Mini ($400 value).

The retail display contest encouraged retailers to increase California avocado branding at point-of-purchase with the use of the California avocado display bins in their primary displays, or as secondary displays by the entrance of their stores. Many of the entrants’ displays showed outstanding creativity, not only using CAC display bins and signage, but also incorporating patriotic touches such as American flags and red, white and blue balloons during their Fourth of July promotions. Others built displays with complementary produce items such as tomatoes and onions, a tactic that has been demonstrated to increase overall produce purchases.