36th Annual Marketing Excellence Award Winner: California Avocado Commission

PROMOTION

What’s Inside a California Avocado

STRATEGY

The “What’s Inside a California Avocado” marketing campaign worked alongside retail support activities, including signage, display bins and customized retailer programs, to increase demand, awareness, and preference for the California Avocado brand during its spring through summer season. To maximize ad dollars, the campaign focused primarily on the western states where most California Avocados are sold.
The California Avocado Commission (CAC) and Curious Plot’s decision to spotlight California growers came from research. According to a 2023 survey, 63% agreed California Avocados are worth paying more for.

Media placements included video, audio and custom digital partnerships. Ads appeared on electric vehicle charging stations located in retailer parking lots. In addition, CAC piloted map ads through Yelp to target shoppers within select ZIP codes.

CAC collaborated with Gelson’s in San Diego and Raley’s Supermarket in Sacramento to host 30 social media influencers with a combined 3 million followers.

RESULTS

During its first month, the campaign reached targeted consumers more than 42 million times, outpacing scoped impressions by nearly double.

Among the highlights: individuals clicked through the campaign’s digital ads at twice the average rate of other online ads; YouTube visitors watched the ads at three times more the average rate; and visitor activity on the updated website more than doubled compared to the same period last year.

In West regions, average weekly avocado retail volume increased +2.2% to an average of 15 million units per week in April and May this year, compared to the prior three months.