The advertising campaign is going
to be primarily internet-based and
there are a few reasons behind that.
Number one is that the internet is a
medium well-suited for our consumer.
Christine talked about how informa-tion-hungry our consumer is and with
the internet format, you have the
opportunity to create an impression
which is compelling through the
brand-style advertisements, then you
can link through micro-websites that
provide the full story for the consumer.
It’s a really good medium for our industry. We’re looking at working with
major online newspapers like the
Chicago Tribune and the New York Times
in key markets across the country.
We are also looking at a radio component to the back-to-school program
in the fall. However, the internet is really the best in terms of “bang for the
buck.” It has the highest reach and we
can deliver the full message targeted to
our audience. And, because organic
consumers are information-intensive, they are more likely to get
their information online than the general population.
ing it with our membership so they can see where the conversation is happening, what consumers are interested in and what blogs are discussing organic
most often. Also, as we monitor these blogs, if we come across instances where
there is misinformation, we post clarifications. We do this multiple times a
week.
In the first quarter of the year, we’ll be launching an industry-oriented blog
from OTA. There’ll also be a blog on the consumer website, which will give another opportunity for interactivity. We already host a blog for college students
called “Organic in the Green,” which looks at bringing organic products onto
OP: What major changes will OTA be
making on the consumer website during
this campaign? You also have big plans
for taking advantage of the Web 2.0 tools
including blogging, correct?
Batcha: One thing we’re looking at is
making the website more appealing to
a broader audience, beyond just the
core organic consumer. We want to use
technology to make the website more
visible, but we also want to bring in
more interactive tools onto the website. This includes Web 2.0 tools that
will allow us to poll consumers about
their opinions of the organic system.
One of the first things we’ve done is
create a bi-monthly blog watch. We’re
tracking and monitoring all of the online conversation regarding organic
and we’re digesting that data and shar-
