The Re:fresh Pr3 Marketing Campaign of the Year award went to Foods from Spain for its integrated marketing campaign for Spanish fresh produce, worth more than £300,000 in coverage.
The campaign, which is run by RED Communications, aims to raise consumer awareness in the UK of the provenance and seasonality of specific Spanish products and Spanish produce in general throughout the year.
The focus in 2008 was on Picota cherries, plums, persimmon, strawberries and raspberries, but the campaign also features a generic element, which included the second year of a national primary schools competition and the launch of an exciting new initiative in the catering sector, the Spanish Young Chef of the Year.
The latter was introduced to encourage up-and-coming chefs to cook with Spanish fresh produce and offered a glittering prize of a three-day placement at El Bulli, which has been voted World’s Best Restaurant for three years running by Restaurant magazine. The winner was judged to have designed the best three-course menu inspired by Spanish fruits from the Foods from Spain campaign.
María José Sevilla, director of Foods from Spain, told freshinfo: “We are absolutely delighted to win the re:fresh award for Marketing Campaign of the Year. Spain has a long history of promoting Spanish fresh produce in the UK market, so it’s essential that we lead the way in terms of rolling out effective campaigns to promote and drive sales in the category.
“During the last five years, Foods from Spain has coordinated its activities on several of the country’s products within an integrated campaign to raise the profile of Spanish fruits. This has focused on educating consumers, encouraging trial of produce such as the persimon, and communicating information and recipes through in-pack recipe leaflets, magazine articles and websites.
“Last year we also launched a new initiative targeting student chefs. The Young Spanish Chef of the Year competition encourages young cooks to take an interest in using Spanish produce and Spanish influences, with a fantastic incentive - a training stage at El Bulli, voted the Best Restaurant in the world. Meanwhile, our National Primary Schools collage competition continues to inspire schoolchildren to find inspiration in Spanish fresh food.”
RED estimates that its work with the media gained Spanish plums more than £300,000 of coverage.
Other nominees included Living Salads, which has been one of the success stories of the industry in recent times. Its marketing campaign, run by Lemon Zest, is a very good example of how to squeeze maximum exposure from minimum budget.
QV Foods’ Inspire range, fronted by MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace, was also nominated for its campaign.
