Mid-Atlantic produce promoters hash it out
Each Mid-Atlantic state has a slogan and hashtag for its produce — a promotional technique more valuable than ever with more eyeballs online and on phones during the recent isolating year.
If the marketing tools are working, then consumers on the East Coast will find these slogans familiar: “Virginia Grown,” “PA Produce: Homegrown Happiness,” “Delaware Grown: Pick Fresh. Pick First” and “Maryland’s Best.”
In celebration of Virginia Agriculture Week June 13-19, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services organized a photo contest. Contestants depicted the state’s agriculture to win prizes, and the winning photo will be prominently featured in the 2022 edition of the Virginia Agriculture magazine.
Submitted photo entries may be used in future publications or within social media campaigns to highlight the diversity of Virginia agriculture. The social media hashtag is #VaAgWeek.
In Pennsylvania, the hashtag is #PaVeggies.
Bill Troxell works on Pennsylvania’s vegetable marketing and research program funded by grower assessments and met June 7 with other program board members to discuss the 2021 season’s marketing strategies.
Members are considering, on a trial basis, a short, paid TV segment to promote Pennsylvania vegetables. The main focus is to promote August as “PA Produce Month.”
“That’s when nearly all of our crops are in the peak of their season,” Troxell said. “We also always try to highlight end of June, start of July when we have first supply of local sweet corn.”
The program works on maintaining an active Facebook and Instagram account at @PAVeggies as well as an engaging website, PAveggies.org.
“Our emphasis this year is more on social media campaigns, press releases, new vegetable-recipe videos, blogs on the website, and we also provide posters and price cards we distribute not only to our own growers but also we usually send materials to about 200 or so supermarkets in the state too,” he said.
Perhaps the most recognized hashtag #JerseyFresh, as the Garden State was the first in the U.S. to brand its state-grown produce.
More shoppers sought out locally grown produce in 2020, said Joe Atchison III, New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s marketing and development division director.
“This year, we expect more of the same, and our marketing efforts are encouraging people to ‘Stay Loyal to Local’ in our consumer-facing marketing, which includes digital billboards, radio, podcasts, social and online media, and print advertising,” Atchison said.
The Jersey Fresh social media photo contest for 2021 is #JerseyFreshisCOOLER.
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posters can use the hashtag when sharing photographs of Jersey Fresh farmers, farms, markets or produce, for the chance to be a weekly winner of a Jersey Fresh backpack cooler filled with goodies, as well as the grand prize: a customized Jersey Fresh Yeti 75-quart cooler.
The contest lasts until Sept. 7. In 2020, hundreds of people and businesses submitted more than 1,000 photos, and Melissa Garcia and Bertuzzi’s Farm Market, Milmay, N.J., won.
