During the second semester of 2012, a social media and retail marketing campaign was developed in Mexico and Costa Rica to promote the consumption of U.S. kernel popcorn.
The objective was to demonstrate consumers the benefits of including popcorn as part of their daily diet. The campaign had a total reach of 1,530,000 consumers in Costa Rica and more than 2,000,000 people in Mexico.
As a result of the campaign, alliances were created with one of the most important cinema chains in Costa Rica, where it was possible to negotiate the most significant points of sale to position U.S. kernel popcorn.
As part of the consumer program of the Idaho Potato Commission, Imalinx created a strategy where Idaho products participated in the menu “The month of United States” of the restaurant chain Sanborn’s.
During July 2012, the USA menu was featured in all 200 Sanborns restaurants nationwide. The IPC participated with the inclusion of 2 different dishes featuring Idaho mashed potato.
The objective of the strategy was to generate brand awareness of Idaho mashed potatoes, and its quality. In addition, to position the brand and integrate the product in the daily diet of the smallest members of the family.
Different POS materials were used to support the program. Tent cards, posters, banners and newspaper ads were part of the campaign, all of which included the Grown in Idaho logo. Imalinx representative on behalf of the IPC also negotiated to have Spuddy Buddy visit 10 restaurants in Mexico City to create brand awareness among consumers.
The interaction between children and Spuddy Buddy was the most successful as 70% of children ordered a dish with potatoes, asked for pictures with Spuddy motley.
According to the sales information Sanborn´s provided us, in all 16,160 dishes featuring Idaho mashed Potato were sold over a 1-month period.
On May 23rd, 2012, the Idaho Potato Commission was contacted through Imalinx with a special request for taking Idaho Potatoes to the presentation of chef Willow Benet (chef of the restaurant Pikayo in Puerto Rico), within the event Madrid Fusión, an international competition of gastronomy carried out for the first time in Mexico.
The key messages of versatility and quality of the product were reinforced during the presentation of the event. A pre-baked frozen potato was used, and a new presentation was exhibited to the market.
The participant chefs and distributors showed high interest on learning more about the different presentations of Idaho potatoes.
From December to January, in representation of the U.S. Popcorn Board, Imalinx implemented a television campaign with the objective of communicating the different ways of consuming U.S. kernel popcorn.
The participation had national and regional coverage, also publications in magazine-type programs, where the average audience was 2.1 million viewers.
Pomegranate arils are used in Mexican dishes during the months of August and September. However, the objective of this program consisted in extending the season during more months of the year, reaching until December or January. The recipes that were developed included ideas for snacks, health menus and beverages.
Media contacts received positively the material and additional to achieving an equivalent cost of 20 to 1 mentions and insertions, the pomegranates were part of the season and participated in one of the magazines with the largest circulation in December, Kena Christmas edition.
During the period August-September, a promotion of U.S. wines was executed for its consumption in Mexico. The project was carried out in coordination with the Western U.S. Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA).
The promotion was developed through three components:
A seminar taught by Omar Barbosa, sommelier of the year. 42 restaurant managers and industry professionals attended to the event.
It included the participation of 10 restaurants in Mexico City, Monterrey and San Miguel de Allende, who promoted tastings of U.S. wines and used material of the campaign. This resulted in an increase in sales of 14%.
The campaign efforts were carried out through an investment in newspapers, magazines and the participation at the trade show Abastur. The national coverage had the objective to communicate the origin, benefits and characteristics of the product, achieving a total reach of 7.2 million consumers.
In October 2010, the event of the Washington Wine Commission was conducted in Cancun to increase awareness of industry professionals and media of the sectors regarding the wine industry of the American Union.
The tasting-seminar was taught by the Master Sommelier Shayn Bjornholm, Director of Education of the Washington Wine Commission.
Some of the vineyards which were present include:
By the end of the event, attendees enjoyed a tasting of a cocktail and a networking session between wine exporters and representatives of the Mexican market. After the successful event of the Washington Wine Commission in Cancun, two more visits were arranged and in 2012 Millbrant Vineyards became part of important wine catalogues in Mexico.
The strategy was developed at the restaurants Teodora, Lucca, Bistro Q and Chino Latino, in which eight dishes were created including beverages, entrees, main courses and desserts. Pomegranates from the west of United States and yellow onions were included as star ingredients.
The objective was to establish a relationship between the gastronomic uses and diffusion to consumers. Visual aids, tent cards and press announcements helped the promotion creating excellent feedback from consumers and restaurant managers.
As representatives of the Blueberry Council, Imalinx organized a sampling activity at the restaurant Jaso, located in Mexico City at Polanco neighborhood.
The chefs, Jared Reardon and Sonia Arias, offered a tasting of six dishes which surprised even the most experienced palate, where blueberries were the source of inspiration of which chefs had to use in this occasion to create never seen before dishes on their menu.
The sampling of the menu had the objective of making the consumption of blueberries more accessible as it is a berry that is little known in our country.
On May 2010, the first blueberry culinary encounter at the Higher Education Centre of San Angel (CESSA) was celebrated, where eight outstanding graduates of this year developed original recipes with blueberries as the main ingredient.
The encounter aimed to reveal the qualities and benefits of blueberries,
as well as the multiple uses that these have and the necessary measures for
their proper handling.
Participants were able to use fresh, frozen and dehydrated blueberries.
The result was a presentation of original recipes of which the following stand out: