Organic Processing Vo1.8 #6 - November/December 2011

Don’t Forget to Have Fun! Building authentic relationships with kids should be fun, so imagine what it’s like to be a kid again and play. For example, Annie’s online games at www.Root4Kids.com let families affix their pictures to vegetables and carry out a variety of gardening adventures.

Another particularly fun and endearingly authentic tactic is Stonyfield’s “Just Eat Organic” ( www.justeatorganic.com), a hip-hop video featuring CEO Gary Hirshberg and moms who work at the company rapping the benefits of organic. With its fun, fresh rhymes, this video educates and entertains at the same time.

Value

As with authenticity, organic brands will find they have greater opportunity than their conventional counterparts to demonstrate value.

Support a “ Growing” Community. Root 4 Kids contributes to the common good by inspiring families to eat healthier and educating them how to do it, but Annie’s realizes that to truly create value with its campaign, a “get and give” must exist between the brand and those who engage with it. In addition to getting the message of organic out to the public, organic companies should also be able to make a physical demonstration of their commitment to their message through financial or hands-on support.

An example from the Root 4 Kids campaign is Annie’s “Grants for Gardens” program, which offers a limited number of small grants to community gardens, school gardens and other educational programs that connect children directly to real food. Nature’s Path also “planted it forward” with its second annual “Gardens for Good” contest. “Through this program, we hope not only to provide funds for urban farming projects, but to also cultivate socially responsible community leaders who will bring people together to feed those in need,” says Arran Stephens, Nature’s Path’s president and co-founder.

Just What the Doctor Ordered. As a brand featuring products primarily for infants, Earth’s Best’s strategies are a virtual classroom for marketers. Clearly pursuing a value-oriented strategy to build deeper connections with pediatricians, its “‘Peds’ Doing Good Deeds” program encourages customers to nominate a pediatrician who “nurtures their patients and gives back to the community.” The selected doctor will receive a $5,000 grant for the charity of his or her choice.

Stonyfield also reached out to pediatricians by creating a brochure called
“Grow, Baby, Grow,” which helps answer parents’ key questions about feeding
their babies and toddlers. It also includes stage-specific information about why

Don’t forget to have fun!Sometimes it’s the best way to learn.

This online game let kids transform into fun veggie cartoons.

they should include organic choices in their little ones’ diet and how they can easily do so.

Be a Mentor. Lundberg Family Farms recently launched “Raising Organic Family Farms,” a multi-year initiative designed to inspire a new generation of organic family farmers and provide financial, education and mentoring support. It underscores Lundberg’s family-owned-and-operated structure and reinforces its commitment to health and vitality for families ( www.raisingorganicfamilyfarms.com).

“Our heritage is firmly rooted in the practice of organic and sustainable farming,” said Grant Lundberg, CEO. “Raising Organic Family Farms is our way of encouraging responsible land stewardship, and helping ensure that sustainable agriculture remains a priority for aspiring farmers.”

Essential Elements of Your
Marketing Campaign

How can you execute a marketing campaign that makes the most of your investment dollars, rises above the tricks of conventional marketing and applies authenticity, relevance and value? Here are 12 basic elements to consider—some obvious, some surprising, yet all essential in building a meaningful, lasting campaign.

The Groundwork:

1. First Ask Why. Before embarking on any campaign to build relationships with families and marketing your product to kids, ask yourself why you want to accomplish this.

Is it for short-term market share gain, or meeting quarterly profits? If so, good luck with that. Is it for building lasting engagement with your audience, truly improving their health and making them generational advocates for organics? Now you’re onto something.