The British Potato Council has hailed National Chip Week 2006 a success, after the industry’s levy-funded media campaign effectively boosted consumer sales.

The campaign, which spanned TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, achieved positive coverage equivalent to an advertising cost of £2.8 million, according to the BPC, but instead totalled £54,000 - around 36p/ha for growers or 0.16p/t for purchasers, representing a fifty-fold return on levy investment.

“The campaign is about getting chips talked about and in the front of consumers’ minds, so we are also delighted by final results showing a 133 per cent increase in awareness - equivalent to 2.66 million more main shoppers thinking positively about chips,” said Kathryn Race, head of marketing at the BPC.

As many as 800 chip shops backing the promotion also a 60 per cent rise in during the week, and 45 per cent reported sustained sales increases in the period since the mid-February event.

“Chips account for nearly a third of potato consumption and one in 10 potatoes goes into chip shops alone, so it’s very important to keep making Chip Week bigger and better each year,” Race said. “All the more so because chips attract a lot of misinformation and, if this goes unchallenged, it can also rub off on potatoes as a whole.

The council said it is also pleased with an increase in attention from younger age groups targeted with email-based chip-themed games, as this demographic are most open to opting for potato rivals such as rice and pasta, the Council said.

“To the public, Chip Week is all about fun. To the industry, it’s about setting the record straight and achieving a very tangible return on investment,” she said.

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