Vidalia Onion Committee launching big promotions
Vidalia Onion Committee launching big promotions
VIDALIA, GA -- The Vidalia Onion Committee will be promoting Georgia's famous sweet onions this year on several fronts.
The highest-profile campaign, Fiesta de Flavor, will be conducted with Corona beer and three other produce items. "There will also be a lime, a tomato and an avocado partner," Wendy Brannen, executive director of the VOC. The promotion will focus on Corona's point of sale, where coupon books will be featured in retail beer and wine departments. And the VOC "is also in discussions with the other produce partners to discuss the possibility of secondary displays in the produce aisles," Ms. Brannen said.
Corona is a Mexican beer. Salsa, a Mexican accoutrement and the most popular condiment in the United States, is a blend of some of the produce items the sponsors feature. Corona beer is traditionally served with a wedge of lime, and guacamole, made primarily of avocados and another Mexican dish that can feature some of the partner items such as the sweet Vidalia onions, is growing in popularity. "You cannot have a salsa without an onion, so why not have the most recognizable onion if you are going to do a fresh salsa and guacamole promotion," Ms. Brannen said.
"The program is distributed in all 50 states, and it has a potential to reach 15 million consumers." Vidalia onions enjoy strong, established recognition and loyalty among older consumers, but younger generations are not necessarily as aware of the famous sweet onions. "One of the primary reasons that I was excited about this program is that Corona's advertising hits a younger demographic. And while Vidalia onions are certainly recognized nationally as the number one sweet onion, we want to make sure we secure that spot in the minds of future generations."
The Corona name will shepherd Vidalia onions into retail real estate that the onions would otherwise be challenged to attain. "This program is a fun opportunity for us to get into not only stores that we might not otherwise be able to get into, but also to get positioning in these stores that we might not otherwise be able to get."
This promotion marks the first time the VOC has offered a coupon promotion -- at least as far as Ms. Brannen is aware. The coupon books will be one of the most important elements of the program. According to Ms. Brannen, about "500,000 of these will be printed. We will be offering 50 cents off five pounds of Vidalia onions. That amount, we feel, will be conducive to sales, whether they be five-pound consumer packs or the more traditional loose by the pound."
The 50 cents that each coupon saves the redeeming consumer will be funded by the VOC.
The Fiesta de Flavor promotion begins June 1 and concludes Aug. 31.
On the heels of its Very Vidalia Recipe Contest for consumers last year, which proved to be very successful, the committee is undertaking another consumer contest this season to reinforce the "fact that we are the original sweet onion and that we can only be grown legally in a specific part of Georgia," Ms. Brannen said. The Very Vidalia Trivia Contest will be a web-based multiple- choice quiz "that reveals unique Vidalia information such as our still being hand-planted and hand-harvested and that we have less than 100 growers who supply 50 states and Canada with Vidalia onions."
The contest will be promoted at the point of sale and through consumer publications across the United States.
"Because of the proliferation of sweet onions on the market in recent years, we want to remind consumers who we are, where we come from and what makes a Vidalia a Vidalia. This contest is the perfect platform for doing so," Ms. Brannen said.
The program will begin April 15 and continue until Aug. 15. "The winner will get an all-expense-paid trip to beautiful Savannah, Georgia. The reason that we selected this prize is because Savannah is an integral part of the state where Vidalias are from -- and certainly its residents are a part of the grassroots support that has helped put us on the map."
Ms. Brannen concluded, "We are proud to still have the best sweet onion, and we are always excited to share our story with consumers and potential consumers."
(For more on Vidalia onions, see the March 17 issue of The Produce News.)
The highest-profile campaign, Fiesta de Flavor, will be conducted with Corona beer and three other produce items. "There will also be a lime, a tomato and an avocado partner," Wendy Brannen, executive director of the VOC. The promotion will focus on Corona's point of sale, where coupon books will be featured in retail beer and wine departments. And the VOC "is also in discussions with the other produce partners to discuss the possibility of secondary displays in the produce aisles," Ms. Brannen said.
Corona is a Mexican beer. Salsa, a Mexican accoutrement and the most popular condiment in the United States, is a blend of some of the produce items the sponsors feature. Corona beer is traditionally served with a wedge of lime, and guacamole, made primarily of avocados and another Mexican dish that can feature some of the partner items such as the sweet Vidalia onions, is growing in popularity. "You cannot have a salsa without an onion, so why not have the most recognizable onion if you are going to do a fresh salsa and guacamole promotion," Ms. Brannen said.
"The program is distributed in all 50 states, and it has a potential to reach 15 million consumers." Vidalia onions enjoy strong, established recognition and loyalty among older consumers, but younger generations are not necessarily as aware of the famous sweet onions. "One of the primary reasons that I was excited about this program is that Corona's advertising hits a younger demographic. And while Vidalia onions are certainly recognized nationally as the number one sweet onion, we want to make sure we secure that spot in the minds of future generations."
The Corona name will shepherd Vidalia onions into retail real estate that the onions would otherwise be challenged to attain. "This program is a fun opportunity for us to get into not only stores that we might not otherwise be able to get into, but also to get positioning in these stores that we might not otherwise be able to get."
This promotion marks the first time the VOC has offered a coupon promotion -- at least as far as Ms. Brannen is aware. The coupon books will be one of the most important elements of the program. According to Ms. Brannen, about "500,000 of these will be printed. We will be offering 50 cents off five pounds of Vidalia onions. That amount, we feel, will be conducive to sales, whether they be five-pound consumer packs or the more traditional loose by the pound."
The 50 cents that each coupon saves the redeeming consumer will be funded by the VOC.
The Fiesta de Flavor promotion begins June 1 and concludes Aug. 31.
On the heels of its Very Vidalia Recipe Contest for consumers last year, which proved to be very successful, the committee is undertaking another consumer contest this season to reinforce the "fact that we are the original sweet onion and that we can only be grown legally in a specific part of Georgia," Ms. Brannen said. The Very Vidalia Trivia Contest will be a web-based multiple- choice quiz "that reveals unique Vidalia information such as our still being hand-planted and hand-harvested and that we have less than 100 growers who supply 50 states and Canada with Vidalia onions."
The contest will be promoted at the point of sale and through consumer publications across the United States.
"Because of the proliferation of sweet onions on the market in recent years, we want to remind consumers who we are, where we come from and what makes a Vidalia a Vidalia. This contest is the perfect platform for doing so," Ms. Brannen said.
The program will begin April 15 and continue until Aug. 15. "The winner will get an all-expense-paid trip to beautiful Savannah, Georgia. The reason that we selected this prize is because Savannah is an integral part of the state where Vidalias are from -- and certainly its residents are a part of the grassroots support that has helped put us on the map."
Ms. Brannen concluded, "We are proud to still have the best sweet onion, and we are always excited to share our story with consumers and potential consumers."
(For more on Vidalia onions, see the March 17 issue of The Produce News.)
