While it hasn’t been all bad, I’m sure I don’t speak just for myself when I say I’m ready for 2021. I love the idea of a fresh start whether that’s in my personal New Year’s resolutions, or goals I’m setting at work. As the new year arrives and fresh produce marketers are wrapping up their plans and budgets, we wanted to give our pitch of why we believe PR is worth your investment. With your dollars being stretched amongst advertising, social media and other initiatives, at DMA, we believe your budget should make room for PR – and guess what? PR typically makes up a smaller part of your budget while reaping big results for your brand.  

Here are two important reasons why public relations is worth your investment:

1. PR elevates your presence within the industry 

If you’ve ever been to Disney World and heard the song “It’s a Small World After All,” you know that song rings true for the fresh produce industry. As much as we’ve grown, we still remain an interconnected, relationship-oriented industry. So utilizing public relations is crucial to earning and maintaining a good reputation.

PR is useful for media training, overall company messaging, interviews, and arguably most importantly, spreading your company news through a press release. Many have said, “the press release is dead,” but at DMA, we’ve found that to be just the opposite. Our industry publications rely on companies distributing press releases to tell their story. At DMA, we receive an average of 6-7 placements per press release and have even heard feedback of those releases directly leading to sales. With an industry as interconnected as ours, all it takes sometimes is a buyer seeing a new product launch in publications like AndNowUKnow or The Packer to reach out and purchase. 

I know what you’re thinking, “that sounds great, but I don’t even know where to start.” That’s exactly why we think PR is worth your investment for 2021. At DMA, we have a trade media list of over 150 media contacts that we’ve built relationships with. We’re master storytellers and would love to work alongside you to share your story with the fresh produce industry. Just by utilizing trade public relations, your brand can build relationships with others in the industry, be more confident in your story, and most importantly, lead to sales! 

Learn more about how to win with trade public relations in these Core posts: 

• 4 Ways to Elevate Your Trade PR in 2020
• Maximizing Public Relations for Virtual Tradeshows
• 4 Ways to Leverage PR for Tradeshow Season

2. PR promotes your product nationally 

Once you’ve established a reputation within the trade industry, maybe it’s time you start thinking bigger. Public relations can elevate your product on a national scale with placements in magazines like O, The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple and Women’s Health. You may be thinking that these are totally out of reach, but we are actually in weekly communication with editors from these publications and more. We’ve coordinated placements in Rachael Ray In Season, EatingWell, Taste of Home, etc. and we know what it takes to get your product noticed. 

Not every product may be right for consumer media pitching, but rest assured we have a Core post titled “Is Your Product Pitch Worthy” to help you decipher. However, just because your product may not be new and shiny doesn’t mean you should count yourself out. You can always try a different angle, like pitching the company instead of the product. Publications are always in need of expert sources and we’re an industry full of them. Make your company the next go-to source on whatever product you grow or sell… because who knows it better than you? 

Learn more about consumer media pitching and how to elevate your products on a national scale by reading through these Core posts: 

• Best Practices for Media Pitching During a Pandemic
• Going Beyond the “Pitch”
• 3 Tips to Make Fresh Produce Stand Out in Consumer Media

As you’ve surmised by now, investing in public relations can reap major results for your brand! Whether you’re looking to increase your presence in the fresh produce industry or promote your product on a national scale, public relations may be just the answer you’ve been looking for. As you’re finalizing your budget for 2021, make sure you add a line for PR. 

If you want to learn more about our public relations team at DMA and how we can help your business and brand, feel free to reach out and schedule a call. We’d love to get to know you!