We created a brand from scratch that, for the first time ever, uniting every commodity in the produce section under one logo – we called it FNV. Fruits and veggies were now able to compete in a marketplace cluttered with big-spending, junk food powerhouses. The creative work announced its iconic intent by leveraging tried and true big brand tactics - celebrity spokespeople, flashy ad campaigns, sleek websites - and turning them on their head. We learned that kids are more likely to eat a food that’s endorsed by their favorite celebrity or athlete*. So we employed 50+ celebs/athletes pro-bono to be our foot soldiers to promote FNV. The campaign respected the marketing savvy of our audience, by being self-aware and acknowledging the goal of shoving marketing down kids’ throats: shilling fruits and veggies to American kids in an overt, unapologetic way.

* Source: PHA, 2014

We launched FNV in May 2015. We zeroed in on two key launch markets – Fresno, CA and Hampton Roads, VA – due to the high concentration of children with a high rate of obesity, and availability to healthy food. Media placements were fully integrated, ranging from TV, social, outdoor, radio, live events, sampling, and sports sponsorships.

Nationally, we focused on social and PR. We forged pivotal partnerships with massive-reaching brands including Honest Company, WWE, Campbell’s and Avocados from Mexico.

We created FNV Live, a sell-out event in Hampton Roads, VA celeb appearances and remarks from Michelle Obama.

We also partnered with Pharrell’s charity, From One Hand to Another, to lead a workshop to empower kids to create their own FNV ads.

Our initial $3MM investment yielded an earned campaign value of $25MM in media and sponsorship entitlements, including PR segments on the likes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show.

• Over 650MM total earned impressions, 231MM from social

• With a $3MM investment, the overall campaign value based on earned & donated media, sponsorships and pro-bono celebrity participation was $25MM

• 50+ celebrity participants with a combined social influence of over 229MM

• One major retail partner saw increased produce aisle penetration after implementing a 40+ in-store activation

• The campaign sparked behavioral change, with 50% of respondents who’d said they would “definitely not eat fruits and vegetables” pre-launch, committing to eating fruits and vegetables after seeing the campaign

• Coverage in national publications including Time, People, Business Insider and Fast Company and entertainment publications including Hollywood Reporter, E! Online and Rolling Stone

• Network TV segments on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

• Planning to launch in additional markets and bring on additional partners in 2016/2017

From soda to chips, brands use advertising and celebrity endorsements to get kids to eat all kinds of unhealthy stuff. And it works. But no one was using that same marketing pixie dust to get kids to eat the healthy stuff. So we did, turning fruits and vegetables into a brand - FNV. We hand picked a team of 50+ big-time celebrities and athletes and featured them in print, OOH, social and events, creating loads of clever, sharable content. Never once preaching or pushing a single health benefit. Just fun advertising that proved that healthy foods could be cool, too.

We needed to resonate with, and change the minds of, our ‘Skeptical Change Agents’ (Teens 13-18 and Moms 18-44). They know fruits and veggies are healthy and that they should consume and serve more, but they’ve been preached to their whole lives, and it’s all noise at this point. But if we could provide them with a reason to listen, care and believe, we knew they’d become our biggest ambassadors for change.

So we borrowed a page from the big brands’ playbook, leveraging tried and true marketing tactics to:

• Create national awareness of and emotional resonance around the Fruits & Veggie Brand.

• Provoke local behavior change, thus increasing consumption and sales of Fruits & Veggies in Fresno and Hampton Roads, VA.

• Drive brand engagement through social chatter, followers, likes and shares of Fruits & Veggies on social.

• Seek 2:1 earned to paid media ratio.

America is one of the unhealthiest nations on the planet. American kids are becoming overweight and sedentary, with over 12MM American children who are obese*. At most, 5% of children are consuming the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables*, which isn’t surprising, since 86% of the ads they see are for junk food**.

So when the Partnership for a Healthier America asked us to help get kids to eat healthier, we knew that the old way of marketing health foods wasn’t enough – lecturing PSAs and finger-wagging marketing efforts were falling on deaf ears. In order to change the perception of “boring” fruits and vegetables, we needed to shift the cultural conversation away from the functional, and towards the emotional. We needed to get kids to want to eat fruits and vegetables.

* Source: PHA, 2014

**Source: Michelle Obama on Food Marketing & Advertising to Children - Speech (2013)