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Mother of an ad campaign explained by Pivonka
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The largest used equipment inventory in the Mid-Atlantic is only a click away. Visit our website by clicking here or visit us at one of our 11 locations throughout MD, DE, VA and PA.
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Mother of an ad campaign explained by Pivonka
1.08.2008
‘Fruits and Veggies — More Matters’ is a hit with moms
By Carol Kinsley
Staff Writer
HARRINGTON, Del. — Dr. Elizabeth Pivonka, president and CEO of the Produce for Better Health Foundation based in Wilmington, Del., was invited to address the vegetable growers of the state on Jan. 7, the first day of Delaware Ag Week.
While “Five a Day” has been touted as the number of fruits and vegetables necessary for good nutrition, 2005 guidelines actually recommend more than five servings a day for most of the population, Pivonka explained in a telephone interview last week.
“The recommendation is for four to 13 servings, depending on age, whether male or female, and physical activity level,” she said.
A new campaign transitions from “Five a Day to “Fruits and Veggies — More Matters.” Pivonka added, “Rather than get caught up in numbers, we just encourage everyone to eat more fruits and vegetables. If people want an idea of how much that should be, almost half of what they eat every day should be fruits and vegetables — and that includes beans.”
In her presentation to the vegetable growers, Pivonka planned to discuss the research behind the change in emphasis. “It wasn’t done on a whim,” she said. “We spent a year and a half doing consumer research, talking to opinion leaders, comparing with other culture shapers, then did a consumer research program to understand what consumers thought about fruits and vegetables.”
The group wanted to understand the best way to position a message about fruits and vegetables and to decide on a graphic and name to go along with that positioning. “We needed something catchy that would resonate with our target audience,” she continued.
“Five a Day” was targeted at all Americans, but for this effort, Fruits and Veggies — More Matters,” the focus was on a particular “sweet spot” — mothers. “We did all our positioning with moms. The message was targeted at them, but it was tested on the population at large to make sure we didn’t turn them off.”
The message developed for mothers tested well with everybody, she reported. The researchers learned mothers don’t want to be preached to, made to feel guilty if they’re not eating or feeding enough fruits and vegetables, or scared into eating more.
“The way we get them to eat more is to tap into a mom’s internal gratification of meeting her responsibility to feed her family well, to make her feel better about doing what she wants to do, then motivate her to feed more fruits and vegetables,” Pivonka said.
Where as “Five a Day” was factual and functional, “More Matters” carries a message that is more emotional-based and inspirational. Mothers feel a personal connection with message and feel better about themselves while feeding more fruits and vegetables, because it does matter, she explained.
“Another key difference is that in the past we focused on why you should eat well, and the health benefits. Now we are moving forward to how to do it, giving tips and ideas on how to incorporate more of these good foods into their daily diet.”
On the group’s Web site, fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org, are a lot of tips on how to eat better.
“One tip that surprised a lot of moms in the research was that canned, frozen, dried and juice all count. You can add frozen vegetables to canned soups or offer canned fruit. Add fruit to cereal. Take dried fruit and nuts to work for a snack. Keep them in car in case you get hungry,” Pivonka suggested.
Simple tips for summer grilling or baking anytime will help mothers prepare delicious and nutritious meals.
“There are a lot of things that can be done if you think a little,” Pivonka said. “You can prepare meals on the weekend, or soups, and eat them through the week or take them as lunch. There are lots of good ways to make sure your family gets enough vegetables.”
The foundation is getting its message out through newspapers and magazines, on supermarket packaging and signage and by providing educational material available for purchase and distribution to educators everywhere. “We’ve partnered with the public health community so every state has a fruit and vegetable nutrition coordinator who helps with media activities at the state level,” she said. Often these coordinators are within the state health department.
The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta is the main partner in the “More Matters” campaign.
Pivonka herself made 20 trips last year to give presentations. “It’s nice that this one is close to home,” she said. “I’m excited to speak with producers. What we do benefits producers and the health of consumers and ultimately benefits the government because of reduced health care costs.”
Signs, posters and other literature are available to retail outlets through an online catalog at pdhcatalog.org or by calling (888) 391-2100. For more information on how to get involved, call Kathleen Ruf at 302-235-2329, Ext. 311.