by Tim Linden, The Produce News
In recognition of how people, especially millennials, choose to communicate in current times, the California Avocado Commission is using a couple of avocado-themed murals to draw a connection between the fruit and the state in which it is grown.
CAC changed advertising agencies this year and part of the branding strategy of the new campaign is to align California avocados with iconic California images. The vast majority of California avocados are sold in the western states where the Golden State’s image is very much a positive. The consumer marketing campaign is centered on associating avocados with the California lifestyle. Using iconic California images, such as the beach and the mountains, the campaign is not so subtly making that connection.
As part of the campaign, the MullenLowe agency is utilizing a “show and share” strategy that encourages millennials and others to snap pictures of themselves in front of strategically located California avocado posters in the state’s larger urban markets and share those images with their friends. Early in the season posters were placed in high-traffic areas within CAC’s targeted markets of Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco, and through its social media postings, CAC encouraged people to “show and share” themselves in photos with those posters.
CAC and its agency have now taken that strategy one step further with the production of a large mural in the trendy South Market (SoMa) neighborhood of San Francisco during mid-June. Another mural is being painted in the equally hip Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego in late July. Both these murals depict a skyline of the host city and avocados. Not surprisingly the San Francisco mural features the Golden Gate Bridge, the well-known pyramid building and other recognizable skyscrapers, and of course, a very nice cut avocado. The one thing missing from the mural is any mention of the sponsor — the California Avocado Commission.
MullenLowe Associate Creative Director Patrick Simkins said that in the first place cities want public art to be free of headlines or logos. But he said millennials are not likely to take a picture of themselves in front of an ad. They are much more likely to share a photo standing in front of cool art. While there is no mention of “California Avocados” on the mural itself, Simkins said “digital bread crumbs” are lurking in cyber space near the mural. If a person does take a photo and uses “Snapchat” for example, to send it to friends, the California Avocado logo does appear during that sharing process. It seemingly shows up magically, but in reality it is just a social media technological advancement that works.
Artist John Van Hamersveld, who is a graphic artist of note that has produced many iconic pieces of art, has become a muralists in recent years. In his San Francisco mural, he blended the California avocado artwork with these well-known images. While it is a commercial venture, Van Hamersveld said the mural “aesthetically stands alone” as a piece of art.
CAC Vice President of Marketing Jan DeLyser noted that CAC has long used strategically based billboards to advance the image of the California avocado. She said the murals this year are taking the place of those billboards and are specifically targeting millennials, which is somewhat of a new target audience for CAC.
Simkins admits that the strategy is cutting edge. He said few advertisers are willing to think outside of the box and separate their name from the image in this way. He called it “new and an experiment” but seems convinced that it will work. He believes many people who pass by will take their picture in front of the mural and share it and then it will be shared again and again.
In today’s social media world, all of those “shares” will be measured and analyzed as time goes on. The murals have contracted the space for a minimum of six months. It’s somewhat likely that they will survive longer as it would be rare for another piece of public art to be approved and waiting for that exact space six months from now.
Source: The Produce News