Share
Two major promotional activities were successfully carried out in Sydney, Australia, between October and December 2022, using an effective marketing strategy based on a multi-channel communication approach that provided clear and engaging information, as well as messages tailored to the target audience.
The overall objectives of these two events were to provide information on the different categories of olive oil referred to in the International Olive Council (IOC) trade standard; to increase the consumption of olive oil; and to inform producers on the best practices for producing quality olive oil along the value chain, in accordance with the IOC standards, using consumer protection as the key argument. The aim of the campaign was also to raise consumer awareness about the health and environmental benefits of consuming olive oil and to strengthen the ties between producers/importers, the Australian government and the IOC.
LAUNCH OF THE IOC PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN IN SYDNEY
The following activities were organised on the occasion of the campaign launch event:
- The announcement of a new brand image with a slogan and logo, and the appointment of a Chef Ambassador (Mark Olive).
- A successful launch event, the success of which was ensured by building strong relationships with key Australian stakeholders, particularly journalists and media personalities, government officials, industry leaders and brands.
- The establishment of a strong collaborative network and communication strategy (emails, follow-ups, informal calls scheduled throughout the campaign, etc.)
Key performance indicators to monitor the success of the campaign in Australia
The launch event was a success in terms of participation, content and engagement. The new campaign highlighted the IOC’s key messages: health, sustainability, the different uses of olive oil (with a particular focus on the use of extra virgin olive oil in cooking), etc. To analyse the success of the campaign, the IOC Executive Secretariat set key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs are measurable values used by marketing teams to monitor and evaluate their performance and progress in achieving the objectives set. They also help teams to monitor the effectiveness of their campaigns and initiatives, and identify areas for improvement. The results of the IOC campaign in Australia are summarised below:
- All invited guests attended the launch event, which means that 100% of the KPIs were achieved.
- Given the high visibility of the articles published and stories shared by Chef Ambassador Mark Olive and other influencers, 188% of the KPIs set were achieved.
- In terms of public relations and advertising, both KPIs were achieved at 104%, having established successful collaborations with several Australian magazines and Ambassador Mark Olive, helping to ensure that the message was properly conveyed to the public during and after the event.
PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN IN SYDNEY
Supplementary budget was used to organise several promotional activities:
- BtoC advertorials (Mindfood): Two articles (print and digital) were published to raise awareness among Australian consumers about the positive health and environmental (sustainability) aspects of olive oil. To this end, a partnership was established with Mindfood, a renowned multimedia platform in Australia that caters to an educated audience and defines itself as “the leading site for thought-provoking content”. The platform offers recipes, health tips, news, games, how-to videos, etc. The two articles published, which referred to Chef Ambassador Mark Olive’s contribution to the IOC campaign in Australia, highlighted the qualities of olive oil as a healthy and environmentally friendly food product. The digital article can be accessed here.
- BtoB online (Food&Beverage): This promotional activity focused on a BtoB strategy. To this end, a partnership was established with Food & Beverage, a well-respected Australian food and beverage media outlet read by key IOC campaign stakeholders in Australia, such as Cobram Estate. Three different digital tools were developed: a banner for the e-newsletter, an online article and a leaderboard (mega-banner) on the website.
- Influencer lunch: A lunch was organised with food influencers to promote the key messages of the campaign to their online communities. The event consisted of the presentation of three recipes that the influencers shared about on their social media. The posts covered the following activities:
- A menu developed by the famous Pistou restaurant, a Mediterranean bistro in Sydney’s fashionable Newtown neighbourhood.
- Recipes elaborated which highlight the different uses of olive oil and showcase olive oil as a staple food in the kitchen.
- A live demonstration given by the restaurant’s chef of how to prepare a tapenade.
- A gift bag with a bottle of olive oil and tapenade given to participants for additional media coverage.
Performance targets achieved for the PR campaign
For the event organised with the supplementary budget, both advertorials (print and digital) achieved their target, reaching 100% of the set KPIs in terms of readership and 121% of the KPIs in terms of page views for the online articles. These variables demonstrate the success of the campaign and the profitability of the partnerships established, both in terms of content (qualitative) and reach and circulation (quantitative).
In addition, with regard to the online BtoB partnership with Food&Beverage, the banner and the mega-banner on the website generated almost 50,000 impressions, an extremely positive result for just a single month of activity. The realisation rate of the KPIs in terms of number of impressions is 132% and in terms of number of clicks 165% (quantitative), due to the content quality.
The influencer lunch also communicated the key campaign messages, as influential guests attended and gave the event an overall rating of 4.9/5 in the satisfaction forms. The KPIs set for the number of publications (clippings) were exceeded by far, reaching a rate of 400%, giving an overall KPI achievement rate of 102%. The PR value shows an overall result of 561% of the set KPIs, thanks to the high number of clippings generated by the participants and the coverage of the event by the restaurant Pistou – the event venue in Sydney – on their social networks.
The main objective of the event was to announce the IOC campaign in Australia and to establish sustainable BtoB partnerships with relevant stakeholders. This activity positively influenced the participants’ perception of olive oil, increasing the likelihood of its future consumption, and also enabled the sharing of new knowledge about the product with the wider Australian community.
