Reinvigorated Vidalia Onion Committee stays focused on consumers
Reinvigorated Vidalia Onion Committee stays focused on consumers
VIDALIA, GA " "My focus and the focus of the committee is the consumer, and if they ask their produce manager for Vidalias, they will bring them in," said Jeffery Hall, manager of the Vidalia Onion Committee, here.
And he has big plans to reach consumers, making heavy use of television appearances and magazine coverage.
On May 5 and 6, Mr. Hall will be in New York City. "I have desk-side interviews? with food editors at publications such as Bon App?tit and Southern Living. He plans to "meet them and familiarize them with what we are doing with the onion? and also to establish relationships.
On May 7, Mr. Hall is "penciled in? to be on the national cable morning talk show "Fox & Friends," which is broadcast live from New York City.
On May 8, Mr. Hill will be at the Tribeca Grill, a famous downtown New York landmark restaurant owned by Robert De Niro and numerous other Hollywood celebrities.
On May 9, he will be at NBC?s "Today Show," co-anchored by Katie Couric and Matt Lauer.
Joining Mr. Hall on the trip to New York will be the committee?s newest mascot, Sweetie, a Las Vegas-type showgirl onion created by Mr. Hall. "I tried to modernize the whole brand of the Vidalia onion. I want it to be the "in?ion." Also attending the appearances will be Yumion, the longtime Vidalia Onion Committee mascot, which belongs to the City of Vidalia Convention & Visitors Bureau; Miss Vidalia Onion Mickey Dodge; and Nancy Hillis, who is the real person depicted as Mandy in John Berendt?s book Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, which was also adapted into a movie.
After the New York appearances, Mr. Hall will be doing a four-city media tour to Nashville, TN; Orlando, FL; New Orleans; and Fort Worth, TX. In those cities, he said that he will be on either national or syndicated television shows either cooking Vidalia onions or "talking about the onions." He is already booked on May 18 on the Fort Worth morning talk show At Home " Live!, hosted by Chuck and Jenni Borsellino.
?I'm trying to go after the consumer," Mr. Hall said. "The buyer and the retailer already know about the onions. I'm trying to go after the consumers or the ones who only think [Vidalia sweet onions] are only available for May and June. ... We want them to know that they are available through the holidays. All they have to do is ask their produce manager."
Not neglecting retailers in favor of promoting to consumers, but rather marrying the two, Mr. Hall has planned a national retail display contest for May through mid-June. Participating stores will submit display photos and sales figures to the committee, and the top three stores will be named winners. "We will go visit the stores [that win and] award prizes, and the top prize is a trip to Hollywood," reinforcing in the committee?s theme: Vidalia onions " the star of the meal.
After the media tour and the display contest, Mr. Hall said, the committee will begin preparing for the Produce Marketing Association?s Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition, this year to be held in Atlanta Nov. 4-8.
Mr. Hall took office as manager of the committee in June 2004. Before joining the committee, he was vice president of administration at Goodwill Industries of the Coastal Empire Inc. in Savannah, GA. Now leading the commission, he is very much enjoying his new role. "The farmers are great, the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] has been great, Tommy Irvin [Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Agriculture] has been awesome," Mr. Hall said. "When I got here, everything was pretty much at a standstill." Finances were tight and little was going on, he said.
?They charged me with getting the Vidalia name back out there, and they are sitting back and letting me do it. I told them it is going to take a commitment from you for money, particularly when you are making up for lost ground."
The industry and the ag department responded. "My budget for promotion last year was $7,000 and this year it is $300,000," Mr. Hall said. "We are doing a really big push. I'm trying to get Vidalia onions back in the forefront of the sweet onion category."
And does he like Vidalia sweet onions? "I eat them constantly. I actually work on some of the recipes," he said.
(A full report on the Vidalia onion deal will appear in the April 18 issue of The Produce News.)
And he has big plans to reach consumers, making heavy use of television appearances and magazine coverage.
On May 5 and 6, Mr. Hall will be in New York City. "I have desk-side interviews? with food editors at publications such as Bon App?tit and Southern Living. He plans to "meet them and familiarize them with what we are doing with the onion? and also to establish relationships.
On May 7, Mr. Hall is "penciled in? to be on the national cable morning talk show "Fox & Friends," which is broadcast live from New York City.
On May 8, Mr. Hill will be at the Tribeca Grill, a famous downtown New York landmark restaurant owned by Robert De Niro and numerous other Hollywood celebrities.
On May 9, he will be at NBC?s "Today Show," co-anchored by Katie Couric and Matt Lauer.
Joining Mr. Hall on the trip to New York will be the committee?s newest mascot, Sweetie, a Las Vegas-type showgirl onion created by Mr. Hall. "I tried to modernize the whole brand of the Vidalia onion. I want it to be the "in?ion." Also attending the appearances will be Yumion, the longtime Vidalia Onion Committee mascot, which belongs to the City of Vidalia Convention & Visitors Bureau; Miss Vidalia Onion Mickey Dodge; and Nancy Hillis, who is the real person depicted as Mandy in John Berendt?s book Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, which was also adapted into a movie.
After the New York appearances, Mr. Hall will be doing a four-city media tour to Nashville, TN; Orlando, FL; New Orleans; and Fort Worth, TX. In those cities, he said that he will be on either national or syndicated television shows either cooking Vidalia onions or "talking about the onions." He is already booked on May 18 on the Fort Worth morning talk show At Home " Live!, hosted by Chuck and Jenni Borsellino.
?I'm trying to go after the consumer," Mr. Hall said. "The buyer and the retailer already know about the onions. I'm trying to go after the consumers or the ones who only think [Vidalia sweet onions] are only available for May and June. ... We want them to know that they are available through the holidays. All they have to do is ask their produce manager."
Not neglecting retailers in favor of promoting to consumers, but rather marrying the two, Mr. Hall has planned a national retail display contest for May through mid-June. Participating stores will submit display photos and sales figures to the committee, and the top three stores will be named winners. "We will go visit the stores [that win and] award prizes, and the top prize is a trip to Hollywood," reinforcing in the committee?s theme: Vidalia onions " the star of the meal.
After the media tour and the display contest, Mr. Hall said, the committee will begin preparing for the Produce Marketing Association?s Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition, this year to be held in Atlanta Nov. 4-8.
Mr. Hall took office as manager of the committee in June 2004. Before joining the committee, he was vice president of administration at Goodwill Industries of the Coastal Empire Inc. in Savannah, GA. Now leading the commission, he is very much enjoying his new role. "The farmers are great, the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] has been great, Tommy Irvin [Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Agriculture] has been awesome," Mr. Hall said. "When I got here, everything was pretty much at a standstill." Finances were tight and little was going on, he said.
?They charged me with getting the Vidalia name back out there, and they are sitting back and letting me do it. I told them it is going to take a commitment from you for money, particularly when you are making up for lost ground."
The industry and the ag department responded. "My budget for promotion last year was $7,000 and this year it is $300,000," Mr. Hall said. "We are doing a really big push. I'm trying to get Vidalia onions back in the forefront of the sweet onion category."
And does he like Vidalia sweet onions? "I eat them constantly. I actually work on some of the recipes," he said.
(A full report on the Vidalia onion deal will appear in the April 18 issue of The Produce News.)
