PR is more effective today than it proved in the past

PR campaigns run by the various sectors of British horticulture have, in most cases, been launched as an act of faith.

During the early days, results varied from the successes first enjoyed throughout the sixties by the Mushroom Growers’ Association, which was funded through a levy on spawn. Other sectors tended to adopt a scatter-gun approach of good ideas, which often could not be sustained, and in my opinion proved to be a complete waste of growers’ hard-earned cash.

Nevertheless, producers began to get a taste for what was usually mistakenly referred to as “advertising”, although the budgets involved usually meant that few could reach this heady goal, and actually concentrated on homespun PR.

As it is today, contributions were nearly always on a voluntary basis, which inevitably led to the bulk of the finance coming not from the sector as a whole, but through the enthusiasm of a core of well-meaning supporters.

An alternative, namely to establish a common contributory approach, has never sat well. Even the Apple and Pear Development Council, set up through an act of parliament, had its dissenters. While it did its job well for several years, a degree of disillusionment still set in and it became another chapter in UK top-fruit history.

The good news, however, is that the various messages are still getting through and in the past decade have been louder and longer. Because unlike activities in the past, they have been shown to have worked.

Apart from campaigns being infinitely more sophisticated today, their results can be assessed because market research into sales performance is now commonplace. Also, English Apples & Pears and the coterie of producer groups representing asparagus, berries, onions, carrots, brassicas, herbs and even Christmas trees, have recognised their activities have a value beyond encouraging the consumer.

Unlike activities in the past, today’s campaigns can provide the catalyst that helps create an ongoing dialogue with supermarkets, and even gives the industry a voice when at times it wants to shed a light on what is going on in the real retail world. For these reasons, the decision taken by the British Leafy Salads Association (BLSA) at its conference to continue with its campaign combining the activities of both its prepared and wholehead sectors, is the right one.

According to the BLSA, its members are seeing their market share drop, despite the ingenuity which has created such a range of choice on the shelves. But rather than sitting on its considerable laurels, the BLSA plans to rectify the situation. Its actions may also prove to be a valuable response in the drive to increase consumption when price may be taking preference over the convenience of crops.