Aussies across the country have been inspired to ‘Taste the Sunshine’ through this season’s Australian Mango marketing campaign.

The task for the Australian Mangoes marketing campaign was to encourage behaviour change, as measured through an increase in the number of Australian households purchasing mangoes this season versus prior year.

The consumer insight underpinning the campaign is that Australians want small indulgences and personal pleasures, however fruit rarely comes to mind. That is until summer rolls around, with all it’s unique, iconic and sensory experiences. The campaign positions mangoes as one of the joys of summer that can be enjoyed as a regular everyday treat.

The hero ‘hedgehog’ image of the ‘Taste the Summer’ mango campaign. 

The campaign used different ways to communicate the message, such as outdoor panels near supermarkets, online videos, social media and advertisements on Coles and Woolworths online shopping websites. Consumer research found that ‘messiness’ and ‘ease of preparation’ are the current top barriers to purchase.

This presented an opportunity to educate and inspire Aussies through the ‘hedgehog’ approach, which is simple, easy and creates minimal mess. The hedgehog preparation technique was featured across campaign activities with the ‘slice, dice, devour’ message to demonstrate how to cut the cheeks and dice a mango, for ease of enjoyment.

A positive shift was seen when comparing the percentage of Australian households purchasing mangoes from this season to last season.

• Over the previous 52 weeks: 56.7 per cent to 59.4 per cent (an increase of 2.7 per cent)
• Over the past four weeks: 14.6 per cent to 19 per cent (an increase of 4.4 per cent)

*Source: NielsenIQ data to 26.02.23

Measuring the campaign’s impact:

The Hort Innovation Marketing Team uses research company Cubery to conduct a pre-launch analysis of how effective marketing activities are before they go out to market. For the Taste the Sunshine campaign, the performance results exceeded the norm for advertisements tested in Australia.

Through research testing, the campaign performed above industry averages across all key measures to ‘captivate’ (stand out and grab attention), ‘connect’ (ability to recall the product/brand) and ‘compel’ (motivate behavioural change through positive influence of thoughts, feelings and behaviours).

Not only was the advertisement enjoyed by consumers, each of the mango key messages tested were clearly communicated, credible and relevant, exceeding all norms for ‘in season now’, ‘delicious’, ‘great for summer’ and ‘a treat to be enjoyed regularly’.

Post-campaign, all the key performance indicators (KPIs) for reach, frequency and opportunities to see the mango key messages were met or exceeded. The campaign delivered the following reach:

• Outdoor panels: 4.1 million reach
• Social media: 3.5 million reach
• Online video: 3.7 million reach
• Retail online: 900,000 opportunities to see the content
• Public relations: 57.9 million+ opportunities to see the mango key messages via 169 pieces of coverage.

To further understand impact, brand tracking research was conducted during the campaign period. Results show that the advertisement provides a persuasive reminder and emotive connection, with more than 59 per cent of consumers more likely to buy mangoes after exposure to the advertising.

Award Winning Campaign:

The ‘Taste the Sunshine’ campaign recently received recognition at Hort Connections where Hort Innovation Marketing Manager, Belinda Van Schaik, was awarded the 2023 IFPA – Produce Plus Marketer of the Year Award (MOYA).

MOYA judges were impressed by the way the campaign used clear and consistent messaging across all channels to address common purchase barriers with mangoes, namely ‘ease of preparation’ and ‘messiness’, which were identified through consumer research.

These barriers presented an opportunity to educate and inspire a hero preparation method that was “simple, easy and creates minimal mess”. The so-called ‘hedgehog’ technique became the key visual for all touchpoints, including point-of-sale activations. The technique highlighted the ‘slice, dice, devour’ message to illustratively demonstrate how to cut and dice mango cheeks.

“The campaign presents as a masterclass in marketing strategy and execution,” said Matthew Jones, editor of Produce Plus magazine. “Drawing on consumer research, Belinda identified a consumer pain point and leveraged it into an educational opportunity.

“The process that went into selecting the right marketing tools for the consumer audience was extremely well thought out, while the uniformity of the messaging across all touchpoints was undoubtedly a key to the campaign’s success.”

MOYA judges were also impressed by how the campaign played to the sensory experiences that mangoes evoke over the summer season.

“Employing messaging such as ‘The wait is over’, along with a ‘Taste the sunshine’ call to action, the judges felt the campaign did an outstanding job of building and maintaining consumer anticipation over the course of the mango season,” Mr Jones said.

The other two MOYA finalists were Red Rich Fruits and Manbulloo, led by Erin Hart for their ‘Kensington Pride Mangoes’ campaign, and Zespri International for the ‘Crazy Tasty’ campaign.

When receiving the award Ms Van Schaik said: “Thank you and congratulations to everyone who makes up ‘team mangoes’: our growers who produce this delicious, iconic fruit, which is synonymous with the Australian summer; the industry representatives who co-created the marketing plan; the retailers who ensured prominent placement in-store and catalogue features; and finally, the Hort Innovation team, who bring so much passion and positivity in their efforts to help drive the horticulture sector.”

WHAT DID THE CAMPAIGN INVOLVE?

• Retail media: Digital display banners on Coles and Woolworths online shopping websites, as well as digital displays and posters positioned prominently in major retail stores. Panels were also located outside supermarkets to inspire shoppers and provide a timely reminder prior to entering the store.

• Social media and online videos: Delivered cost effective mass reach, using a mix of images and videos communicating different messages relevant to the timing of the season. For example, for the start of the season the message was ‘The wait is over, mangoes are back, taste the sunshine’.

• Public Relations: To demonstrate how delicious and juicy the new season crop was, a range of assets and a media release were pitched to various media outlets, accompanied by:

» Seasonal mango data.

» Videos and imagery educating Aussies on how to hedgehog a mango, in a visually exciting format that shows the sensory-loaded, delicious eating experience of a mango.

» Interviews and imagery with mango growers Bec and Luke McMullin.

» Interviews with Brett Kelly, Australian Mango Industry Association CEO.

» Interviews and photos with the top bidder of the first tray of mangoes sold at The Brisbane Markets mango auction.