British Tomato Growers Association’s (TGA) annual promotion, British tomato fortnight, which ran from May 23 to June 5, was fortunate this year in coinciding with the Queen’s jubilee celebration. “We were able to tap into people wanting to try new recipes for the jubilee,” said Abigail Clayton, account manager at PR company Jack & Grace, which runs the promotion for the TGA.
Addressing the TGA’s conference in September, she said the promotion was well supported by several retailers. Grower Roly Holt became the face of British tomatoes in Sainsbury’s stores nationwide; M&S shared recipes on their Instagram and Facebook accounts, which have 7.5 million followers; and Aldi increased awareness among its employees about the benefits of buying British tomatoes.
The PR team also partnered with a company, Maldon Salt, for the first time, which is followed by 57,000 people on Instagram. “We were able to target shoppers of premium products as a result,” she said. “Brand partnerships help us broaden our audiences on social media.”
Coverage was secured in several national newspapers and magazines while 11 million people were reached via the radio, a 1,000% increase compared to the previous year. Broadcast has the advantage in being able to open up more in-depth conversations around core themes and messaging, including industry issues such as labour, said account director Jessica Nazaire.
One nursery was featured for an entire morning on BBC Radio Humberside. “Local stories are impactful, and growers are key to this,” she said. “It’s not always easy or possible, particularly with the year we have had, but when growers commit time to do some PR, the quality of coverage exceeds our expectations each time.”