Following up on last year’s successful run, the Vidalia Onion Committee is again making its “V is for Vidalia” campaign the centerpiece of this year’s marketing efforts, with ever-increasing focus on social media and audience interaction.

The Vidalia season officially began Monday, April 27 and was ushered in by the Vidalia Onion Festival and Golden Onion cooking competition the weekend before. Attendees noshed on a staggering variety of onion dishes and were wowed as top professionals brought their best to the table. Through it all, the “V is for Vidalia” sign was abundantly evident.

Having the campaign back for a second year has helped the “V” concept gain traction. VOC Executive Director Susan Waters said continued emphasis on social media for consumers and point-of-sale materials, posters, cards and bins for retail will help that trend continue.

“We’re expanding on some of the things we did last year with packaging branding and messaging, point-of-sale materials, posters, bins and other materials,” said Waters. “The reason we did ‘V is for Vidalia’ again is because it doesn’t age, it gains traction and we’re building on it focusing on different aspects of marketing. We’ll be social media heavy – Facebook giveaways were really good last year and kept our audience looking at the website. We’ll do another digital coupon. And again we had nationally known food bloggers in April for a media tour centered around the Vidalia Onion Festival and our Golden Onion Cookoff.”

Last year’s digital coupon campaign was a hit “and we’ve already had people on Facebook asking if we’re going to have them again. We are,” Waters said.

The 2014 coupon offered 50 cents off five pounds of bagged or bulk Vidalias and, while the final decision has not been made, Waters believes “that’s what it will be again.”

The VOC’s Facebook following continues to grow and this season “we’ve been following the crop on Facebook posting pictures and videos,” Waters said. “We’ve gotten some of our biggest reactions from that. That’s one of thing Vidalia fans really enjoy, seeing where their favorite onion is grown and actually seeing the people who are growing it.”

The social media presence will also “help show the versatility” of Vidalias, Waters said. “We know everybody cooks with onions but maybe not everybody knows the versatility of the Vidalia onion and its origins.”