Industry must find its voice in "More Matters" message

My column from the Dec. 1 issue of The Packer...Given the Fresh Talk poll this week is closing with a wimper, there is reason for concern about industry apathy concerning the promotion message.


Industry must find its voice with More Matters message
Tom Karst, National Editor
Among the many things the fresh produce industry can be thankful for in this season of reflection, count the consistently good press that fresh fruits and vegetables receive.
Of course, I am quick to acknowledge that all this good press is not for nothing. It is no public relations hype, some carefully crafted manipulation by some Manhattan public relations agency to target key media influencers to win favorable coverage.
No, it simply reflects the fact that fruits and vegetables are really, really good for people. In fact, they are about the best things people can eat, and this time-worn truth is seemingly unsinkable, notwithstanding the foodborne illness linked to fresh produce or the periodic pesticide scare ginned up by consumer groups (the so-called "Dirty Dozen" of the Environmental Working Group comes to mind).
Moms will always tell their children to eat their vegetables, won't they? Just this past week, I saw an article that reviewed a study done by the University of Prince Edward Island that the children who ate the most fruits and vegetables on a daily basis had the best academic performance. Broccoli equals brainpower, more or less.
Of course, this is just one of many studies that exalt the goodness of fresh produce. You trip over these stories on the Web, with one study after another touting the beneficial effects of eating fruits and vegetables, whether related to their mitigating effect on cancer, obesity, diabetes or any random malady. The fact that fresh produce is good for you is so instinctively correct among consumers that it presents a challenge to industry-led promotional efforts. There is no convincing necessary. There are no atheists in foxholes and no fruit and vegetable doubters in the produce aisle.
The "other white meat" is all over the airwaves because pork producers know they have to work to put lipstick on a pig.
Fresh produce marketers may slough off any commitment to promotional efforts, figuring their story will be told one way or another.
This, in a roundabout way, brings us to this week's news from the Produce for Better Health Foundation, which issued a reminder that the use of the 5 a Day is on its way out very soon.
Is the industry ready to let go of 5 a Day? Ready or not, the Produce for Better Health Foundation is asking for all 5 a Day signage to be removed by Jan. 1.
How much of the old 5 a Day material/signage is still being used? What's the adoption rate of Fruits & Veggies -- More Matters in the industry? How fast is the public embracing the More Matters message? How does public awareness of the More Matters message (this shorthand is problematic to some, I know, but "Fruits & Veggies -- More Matters" is too long … perhaps FVMM) compared to current awareness of 5 a Day?
PBH was right to put a sunset on use of 5 a Day, but the challenge for Elizabeth Pivonka and others is to deploy the resources necessary to bolster the More Matters message. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government agencies are on board with this message, and it is time for the entire industry to move on as well.
The Web presence of 5 a Day for Better Health numbers about 15 million hits in a Google search. The fruit and vegetable coin of the realm has been 5 a Day for many years. In contrast, the Web presence of Fruits & Veggies -- More Matters generated a response of about 1.85 million hits in a Google search.
That may not be a completely fair reading of the marketing penetration of More Matters, but it does show there is work to do.
In a PBH news release, Pivonka restated the reasons for the change to the new message, and reassured that there is no danger the message and logo will change again.
"The new Fruits & Veggies -- More Matters health initiative is PBH's response to increased recommendations for fruits and vegetables in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines of Americans," Pivonka said in the release.
"As part of the development of the Fruits & Veggies -- More Matters brand, we selected a name and logo that would not need to be changed or updated each time the nutrition science advanced. This brand is evergreen and donors do not need to worry that the logo will change again," she added.
One of the advantages of Fruits & Veggies -- More Matters is the fact that other messages can be attached to it, whether relating to color, health or perhaps -- in these lean economic times -- value.
I sense that industry commitment to the Produce for Better Health Foundation and the More Matters message needs to be stepped up. Perhaps there is a latent belief that the steady drumbeat of the good-for-you coverage in the media can be counted on indefinitely, or that past investments in 5 a Day are still paying dividends. There is one last backstop, of course: Won't moms always be there to kick in the guilt?
Counting on the fickle news media, a new generation of time-pressed moms and yesterday's 5 a Day message to the carry banner for fruits and vegetables is a risky gamble.
E-mail tkarst@thepacker.com