CT Grown: Not an Oxymoron; It's Widespread-Local Awareness.

Submitted by ckwebacct on Tue, 2011-07-12 10:58
The Challenge: 

In 2007, Cashman + Katz developed the first ever marketing campaign to support to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture’s CT Grown program, which promotes locally produced agricultural products and farmers.

The Approach: 

Taking an integrated approach, C+K recommended a statewide advertising campaign which included TV, radio, outdoor and transit advertising in addition to in-store signage and public relations.

However, the first step in the process was to develop a consistent message for the CT Grown program, which had not been done before. While past market research showed high recognition of the CT Grown logo, there was low awareness of what the CT Grown program actually was. C+K recommended that the Dept. of Agriculture keep the existing logo, but freshen it up with a new tagline…"The local flavor."

C+K also felt it was important to formally announce the campaign with a kickoff celebration, to demonstrate the Dept. of Agriculture’s commitment to farmers and producers throughout the state. C+K organized a press event at the Regional Market in Hartford to unveil the new marketing campaign. Local, regional, national and even international industry media covered the event, positioning the State of Connecticut as a leader in supporting the agriculture industry and the buy local movement.

The Results: 

The advertising campaign ran during the height of the growing season, May through August. And C+K embarked on an eight month public relations campaign, beginning with the kickoff event in May, placing nearly 30 stories for CT Grown, including two op-ed pieces in The Hartford Courant.

Telephone surveys conducted at the conclusion of the campaign indicated that more than 70% of the respondents recalled seeing or hearing the CT Grown advertising and had favorable opinions of them. This inaugural campaign was so successful, the client supported its funding for two successive years.