An indulgently nutritious marketing event, ultimately aimed to educate and excite consumers through the influence of new media representatives, was recently sponsored by Avocados from Mexico and Zespri Kiwifruit. The seemingly unrelated organizations joined forces in an unlikely pairing on January 17th to celebrate their official “adoptions” of the first avocado and kiwi emojis, respectively, which involves a process conducted through Unicode, the emoji consortium. The American Egg Board also sponsored the event in honor of the new egg emoji.
Food bloggers, produce-savvy social media, registered dieticians and chefs grabbed their smartphones. Armed with newly-released fruit and veggie emojis and culinary iPhoneography tricks, they feasted on a gastronomic banquet of mouth-watering subject matter at an intimate, family-style event hosted recently at New York City’s Maman restaurant in SoHo.
Instantaneously, the well-versed social media magnets texted, tweeted and wowed Instagram followers, streaming artfully composed photos, produce usage tips and innovative recipes in between bites at the seven-course, healthy emoji-themed affair. (For further inspiration, fresh 2017 emojis include the carrot, green salad, peanut, cucumber slices, potato, and updated peach.)
Celebrity chef and registered dietitian Diane Hendericks masterfully created and passionately described the fun, integrated ingredient menu, highlighted with the accompanying mobile emoji symbols. Guest favorites included kiwi, avocado, egg and arugula salad with citrus vinaigrette; crab cake and eggs benedict with avocado relish; kiwi lime avocado cheesecake, and a SunGold Sangria with dry white wine, Cointreau, brandy, white grape juice, lime seltzer, Zespri SunGold and green kiwi.
Channeling the latest social media tools, professional mobile phone photographers tutored guests on the most impactful culinary camera angles, lighting and color exposures, and post-production phone techniques “to tell a story, set a mood, and bring the dishes to life.” But perhaps the most insightful lesson is one social media diehards already know: The best camera is the one you have with you so you don’t miss out on a great shot.
Kevin Hamilton, director of brand marketing for Avocados from Mexico, based in Irving, TX, engaged guests on how to select, ripen and preserve avocados, noting his preference for extra ripe and creamy. “Communication is the key and social media is the new ballgame,” Hamilton emphasized. At the same time, he was quick to add, “That’s not to underplay how excited we are for our upcoming Super Bowl commercial as part of our out-of-the-box branding strategy. It’s important to do unique things and connect brands to pop culture and changing lifestyles, which are moving at lightning speed.”
Source: PerishableNews.com