Brilliant marketing does not always require a 50 page plan with months of strategy and planning. In fact, the speed of our digital society now requires less planning and more real-time marketing. Today’s marketers must balance this reality by remaining nimble while implementing strategies that will shift society’s awareness, attitudes and behaviors. In many ways this is a good thing because we see more authenticity and less “spin.”
From an outsider’s perspective, I believe this could be the challenge facing PMA and the marketers behind Team FNV. I don’t believe the strategy needs to be 100% defined at this time for FNV to be successful. However, a lack of communication about any strategy that directly affects an entire industry can leave us all vulnerable to unclear messaging to consumers and prevent companies from maximizing the effort. From the communications I have seen thus far, I find myself struggling with the most basic question: What is Team FNV?
Having heard several live announcements from Cathy Burns and Jeff Dunn along with press releases and emails from PMA, it is unclear if FNV is striving to create a brand or a promotional campaign. These are two very different things, yet the effort is being described as both. In a recent email from PMA to members, Cathy calls FNV both “a new consumer-facing brand” and a campaign. I won’t go deep into an analysis of the contrasts between a brand (e.g. Coca Cola / Coke) and a promotional campaign (e.g Got Milk?), but I do believe in order for this determination to be made we need to start by understanding the outcome of this effort and at this time that is not clear.
Are we trying to build awareness for fresh? If so, then we need to build a case against other options, namely “processed.” That’s going to be tough with canned and frozen products in the mix and with messaging that blurs the definition and value of fresh – something the industry has spent significant marketing dollars to combat. I hope the marketers behind FNV consider this as they further develop the efforts beyond the hype phase and as they measure the results from the two test markets.
Are we trying to build a brand that will sell more produce? If this the ultimate goal for the effort, then I think it is imperative for PHA and PMA to share the plan for connecting an FNV brand to the actual products that will support them.
Thus far, it appears the intent is for FNV to become a brand. If you look at their website the clear message is that FNV is a brand created to rescue the lack-luster fresh produce marketing that clearly states “WE HAVE ARRIVED. Fruits & Veggies is officially a brand now.” In the original press the CMO for Victor Spoils states “Obviously, our inspiration for all this was behaving like a big, iconic brand,” of which his agency represents some of the biggest (Smirnoff, Adidas, and Coca-Cola, to name a few). He goes on to say the opportunity is for fresh produce to market like “corporate food companies.” While I certainly agree with this notion to some degree, I also know that “fresh produce” as a whole is not a corporate food company, and that mere fact presents a significant challenge as it relates to building a brand.
A brand must be represented by a product(s) and deliver on a promise that consumers can connect with in the form of a feeling or belief. With this thought in mind, I feel strongly that FNV should consider repositioning itself as a campaign rather than a brand. Again, I make this recommendation based on my current understanding of FNV and the results they’re seeking, and it’s entirely possible that the two test markets could shine a new light on the possibilities surrounding this effort. Regardless, it is going to take significant alignment with the growers of the products that the FNV campaign will ultimately embody.
In February, we wrote about FNV shortly after we learned of its launch, and we followed up our thoughts with several questions that surfaced for us based on initial communications. Now that FNV has rolled out in two test markets, we are eager to hear the results so that we can better understand what this effort aims to accomplish and how we, as not only PMA members but as members of the fresh produce industry, can get involved in a way that positively impacts us all.
We have certainly had a significant amount of debate on this subject at the DMA office and we look forward to hearing thoughts and a broader scope of opinions from our fellow marketers and leaders.
