Podcast Advertising, Youtube Commercials Slated For Fall SweeTango Apple Ad Campaign

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The growers of SweeTango® apples have planned a high-impact ad campaign that spans peak season, September through November.  The campaign includes podcast advertising with celebrity endorsements from television journalist Katie Couric, comedian Paul F. Tompkins, journalist and “Top Chef Masters” judge Francis Lam, and more. In addition, a YouTube pre-roll ad campaign will run humorous 30- and 15-second spots that depict SweeTango apple fans enthusiastically celebrating their favorite apple. SweeTango social media channels will support the ad campaign.

SweeTango Podcast Advertising

"SweeTango apples can be counted among the first fresh produce brands to utilize podcast advertising in its consumer marketing mix," said Cristie Mather of the creative agency The Fiction Tribe, who manages consumer marketing for SweeTango. She noted that this innovative approach takes advantage of the steady rise in podcast listenership among the best-selling club-variety apple’s target audiences. According to Edison Research, 44% of all Americans now listen to podcasts, and 88% listen to most or all episodes of a podcast to which they subscribe. Midroll’s media research shows that 61% of listeners report buying something they heard about on a podcast ad, and 60% state that given equal price and quality, they prefer to buy products from companies that advertise on their favorite podcasts.

Ads will air on seven unique podcasts whose audiences are rich with SweeTango target consumers. Podcast hosts will educate listeners about SweeTango’s seasonality, remarkably loud crunch, and sweet-tangy flavor touched with citrus, honey, and spice. The ads will run on podcasts that are popular in both the U.S. and Canada: The Katie Couric Podcast; Spontaneanation with Paul F. Tompkins; The Splendid Table with Francis Lam; Gastropod; The Sporkful; Make Me Smart; and Spilled Milk.  The episodes featuring SweeTango will be available for streaming or download in perpetuity after they are released this fall.

SweeTango YouTube Commercials

Inspired by the real-life enthusiasm and passion of SweeTango apple fans, humorous 30- and 15-second ads depict how SweeTango apple fans show up to the grocery store with the same enthusiasm that sports fans bring on game day.

The commercials will drive YouTube viewers to SweeTango retailers, with the ads’ call to action directing to SweeTango.com where the nearest SweeTango retailer can be found on a map.

YouTube is second only to Google in Alexa’s “Top 500 Sites on the Web” list, and it draws and more than half of all U.S. adults, according to Pew Research Center.  In a study commissioned by Google, eye-tracking data showed that paid YouTube ads earned the viewer’s attention 83% of the time, outperforming television advertising, which was measured at receiving 45% of the viewer’s attention.

SweeTango Social Media

SweeTango’s owned social media channels will support the ad campaign by airing the commercials along with with “Year of the Fan” themed content. A steady cadence of mini-contests and giveaways will offer consumers opportunities to win SweeTango fan gear, including hats, t-shirts, and sweatshirts, as well as 6-packs of fresh SweeTango apples. In addition to the social media “Year of the Fan” campaign, other seasonally relevant content will be distributed to allow the SweeTango brand to take advantage of trending topics.

# # #

ABOUT NEXT BIG THING, A GROWERS’ COOPERATIVE

Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative is a 47-member cooperative of family growers, spread from Nova Scotia to Washington State, that grows and markets managed varieties of apples, beginning with SweeTango. North American sales desks include Stemilt Growers, All Fresh GPS, Ferguson’s Pepin Heights LLC, Fowler Farms, New York Apple Sales, and Scotian Gold Cooperative. Find more information on SweeTango at http://www.sweetango.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sweetango

ABOUT SWEETANGO® APPLES

Introduced in 2009, SweeTango is a premium apple variety that was developed by the University of Minnesota using time-honored horticultural techniques to cross the Honeycrisp and Zestar! apple varieties. SweeTango is known for its outstanding flavor: sweet with a lively touch of citrus, honey and spice. Its texture is unmatched; biting into this remarkably crisp apple produces a loud crunch and satisfying burst of delicious juice. A seasonal apple harvested in early fall, SweeTango is available during the apple season across the United States and Canada.

Source: Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative