Despite the government’s best efforts to educate and encourage the British public to eat more healthily, most of us still fail to eat the recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables.
In a report published last year, DEFRA concluded that the long running 5 A DAY campaign seems to have had little impact on UK consumption of fresh produce, stating that “while the 5 A DAY message is now well recognised by consumers, there has not yet been the dramatic increase in fruit and vegetable consumption required, particularly among low income groups”.
The report showed that in 2008, average daily consumption of fruit and vegetables was 3.7 portions per day, down from 3.9 per day in 2007 and lower than for the past few years. This is mirrored by data from trade association Freshfel Europe, which shows that the per capita fresh fruit consumption in the rest of the EU declined by six per cent in 2009. Fresh vegetable consumption also declined by 0.5 per cent compared to the previous year, remaining clearly below the average of the last five years by 11.7 per cent.
These statistics paint a bleak picture, particularly as so much funding has gone into long-running public health campaigns aiming to promote a better diet and healthier lifestyle.
The Change4Life campaign, which started in November 2008, has so far cost a total of £75 million. Some of the funding comes from commercial sponsorship, but the vast majority of the bill is footed by the taxpayer.
As for commercial campaigns, the biggest hurdle faced by the fresh produce industry is the cost. While manufacturers in other sectors - such as the chocolate or dairy industry - can afford to appoint big PR firms to dream up elaborate across-the-board campaigns, fruit and veg companies inevitably have to work to tighter budgets. But that’s not to say they can’t achieve good results.
Stan Smith, CEO of sweet potato growers Scott Farms International, has overseen the Love Sweet Potatoes campaign, which was launched in September this year. Although working with a relatively modest budget of £120,000 for the first 12 months, he has already seen a spike in sales. “It’s early days, but we’re incredibly excited,” he says. “On the back of the campaign, one of our wholesale customers has increased their monthly order from 10 to 40 tonnes.”
Smith is not the only one who advocates the product-generic approach. Rob Metcalfe, managing director of Richmond Towers Communications, is behind the South African avocado campaign, which launched in 1996. He believes generic campaigns, if they are executed well and for long enough, can have a significant impact. “They can completely change the face of fresh produce sectors,” he says. “When we started work on the generic promotion of avocados in 1996, UK consumers believed avocados to be a winter fruit that came from Israel. Consistent in-store support and extensive public relations activity have completely changed that shopper perception.”
Crucially, the campaign managed to achieve more than just switching seasons; it has also increased sales. According to Metcalfe, UK multiple retail sales have now reached £47m a year, up from £13m when the campaign started. “Even allowing for inflation, that’s still nearly £30m of incremental sales annually,” he says.
Part of the reason for the sales increase is that other avocado growers, mainly Chilean and Peruvian, have jumped on the bandwagon and launched their own campaigns in the last few years, carefully scheduling their marketing and in-store activity so as not to conflict with the South African campaign. The added buzz has benefited the industry as a whole.
It is this kind of joined up thinking that has also been at the heart of the succcess story that is the Seasonal Berries campaign.
Metcalfe is quick to point out that what has helped to make the avocado campaign a success is consistency of investment, rather than big one-off spends. “The change in perceptions may not be as swift as achieved via a multi-million pound ad campaign, but the results are likely to be longer lasting,” he says. “I would wholeheartedly encourage producers to consider generic promotion if they can commit to the long term - say three to five years minimum - dipping in and out of activity is a waste of time and money.”
A similar view was put forward by Pam Lloyd at the recent FPJ Bristol conference. Her agency Pam Lloyd PR helped double sales of shallots, for instance, over an eight year period thanks to sustained PR activity, while Steven Spurr, group MD at PR firm Edelman, says: “It’s better to have a slow-burning, long-term campaign than short bursts of activity.”
In terms of what PR tactics he thinks work best, Spurr has some fascinating insight into consumer behaviour, following a global survey conducted by Edelman earlier this year. Feedback from 15,000 people across 12 countries including the UK revealed that consumers already know how to be healthy. “People are already very educated when it comes to health and nutrition. They know what is good and what is bad for them, and they are also aware that good health needs to be maintained by eating healthily, exercising and so on. Most people - 75 per cent - agree that they are the ones responsible for their nutrition. But half of those who had tried to change a negative behaviour in the past had failed.”
It rather begs the question why the government is spending £75m on a campaign telling us how to make healthy lifestyle changes. Spurr thinks Change4Life could be missing an important point by being too generic. “It’s incredibly well researched but does it relate to you personally? Do you have empathy for animated characters? Our survey found that people are much more likely to be influenced by someone like themselves, a normal person who manages to be healthy. Even celebrities were less credible.”
Spurr also questions the thinking behind 5 A DAY and how motivating it really is, given that research shows people are more likely to succeed if they feel they are getting immediate feedback. “You are more likely to see results if you set smaller, more achievable goals,” he says. “Maybe that’s where 5 A DAY is too much of a challenge. If you eat zero a day, it might be too big a step.” -
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