Marketing snapshot - Hortlink 2017, edition 2

This Hort Innovation Papaya Fund marketing snapshot has been taken from Hort Innovation’s Hortlink 2017, edition 2.

Hort Innovation is responsible for investing the papaya marketing levy into a range of activities to grow awareness and consumption of the fruit. Recent marketing efforts have included…

Social media

The consumer-facing Australian Papaya Facebook page (www.facebook.com/PapayaAustralia/) hit 18,000 ‘fans’ in April, with a monthly reach of 185,530 people. Images of fresh papayas on farms, and increasing grower involvement, have been particularly successful in growing the page’s engagement rates.

Posts occur three times per week in peak flushes/season, and twice a week at other times.

Public relations

Off the back of an autumn seasonal media release, there has so far been 54 pieces of papaya coverage across traditional media – reaching a combined 159,930 consumers – as well as 63 pieces of social media coverage reaching over 5.16 million people.

In-store sampling

In-store sampling activities were launched in May and were set to occur in a total of 187 stores across New South Wales and Victoria. The selected stories include 30 Victorian venues that were audited in 2015/16 and found to have a low understanding of the product in general. The in-store sessions will each last for four hours, with education a key focus of the sampling activity, and take-home information outlining papaya health benefits being provided. Look for results in upcoming editions of Hortlink.

Family-focussed expo activity

Australian papayas were well-represented at the Pregnancy, Babies and Children’s Expo in Melbourne in late February, with 12,500 people in attendance. The papaya stand showcased papaya in puree form, with 2100 samples handed out. Blended with banana, the puree was a hit with babies and parents, including expecting mums and dads looking for ideas for once bub is born. The puree was presented as healthy and cost-effective.

Surveying at the point of sampling found that 100 per cent of people did not understand just how versatile and healthy papaya is, but those leaving the stand walked away with targeted messaging to help rectify this.

A further expo in Sydney, from May 19 to 21, also saw Australian papaya sampling and education, with puree and fruit given out with recipe cards and health-specific information for both mothers and babies. Grower Amanda Arbuckle, from Innisfail, helped represent growers at the event. Look for an update in the next Hortlink.