Cranberry Marketing Committee USA (CMC) is honored to receive a 2015 Produce Business Marketing Excellence Award for its Fourth of July and Summer Grilling Season Promotion. CMC commissioned Pollock Communications to promote and create a sales spike for cranberries by positioning them as the All-American Fruit for July 4th and summer grilling. The successful campaign won CMC and Pollock a spot with an elite group of companies featured in the August issue of Produce Business, a national trade publication, for marketing campaigns that were successful in capturing consumers’ interest and increasing sales.

CMC and Pollock’s winning marketing campaign drove interest, awareness and sales of cranberries through a partnership with retailer Big Y’s Living Well Eating Smart (LWES) nutrition program, run by the store’s in-house Registered Dietitians. The LWES program introduced shoppers to the health benefits, flavors and versatility of cranberries during summer grilling season via the LWES newsletter, sales circular and in-store endcap display. Key cranberry messaging was included in the newsletter, and cranberry industry partners were able to take advantage of sales opportunities as part of the LWES partnership. In addition, Pollock worked with Big Y to layer supplemental consumer engagement tactics, including: in-store demos, recipe cards, Big Y Facebook giveaways and traditional media outreach, resulting in several local television segments to amplify messaging.

The summer grilling promotion helped the Cranberry Marketing Committee, USA increase sales of cranberries by more than 50 percent compared to a straightforward product sale during the summer campaign.

“Our objective was to help bring awareness to cranberries, America’s Original Superfruit®, during a new season, and we are pleased with the huge success of this promotion. We are even more pleased to be awarded a marketing excellence distinction by Produce Business,” said Michelle Hogan, Executive Director of the Cranberry Marketing Committee USA.

“We take pride in creating and executing successful programs for our clients. It is an added bonus to also be recognized by an industry leader like Produce Business,” said Louise Pollock, President of Pollock Communications.