British herb PR campaign kicks off

The British Herb Trade Association (BHTA) is to launch a campaign with its new PR agency Mustard Communications featuring a mystery celebrity.

The campaign will focus on the ability of herbs to make “ordinary meals extraordinary” and aims to demonstrate that herbs “can completely transform everyday dishes”.

The campaign will include a strong digital media element with social networking sites set to be a key vehicle in the campaign.

To maximise awareness, the campaign will be backed by an as-yet-unnamed celebrity. It will also tap into seasonal trends and will seek to establish partnerships with other like-minded products and organisations.

The BHTA is funded by five member companies - HumberVHB, R&G Fresh Herbs, Lincolnshire Herbs, Lighthorne Herbs and Scottherbs. The association aims to promote the fresh herb industry in the UK and offers support across all areas of the industry from the different types of herb production, through to processing, product development and technical issues.

Leon Mundey of the BHTA said: “We are very excited about the forthcoming campaign and confident that it will deliver great results for us and drive sales. We can’t give away too much about the campaign at this stage but it is a well thought out strategy which targets consumers directly with a creative call to action.”

He added: “For the first time, we have included elements which directly target children and schools as we believe that fresh herbs can be enjoyed by all age groups. Children love the different varieties, taste and textures of fresh herbs and we will seek to expand their knowledge and understanding of them.”