In a recent article for The Packer, NST’s CEO Kerry Tucker and Bill Bishop, chief architect for Brick Meets Click, highlight a recent Food Foresight trend: an increasing numbers of shoppers are making more intentional decisions to buy food that is healthier and supports the environment.

Tucker and Bishop explain that consumers are looking for more detailed information about the food they buy, such as what it is, and how and where it was produced. Two consumer segments are growing and creating great opportunities for produce marketers, in particular:

• Those who have difficulty affording to put food on the table but still want and need to get the most nutrition for the money.
• Those who define food as part of a healthy and enjoyable lifestyle, with cost remaining a consideration, but not the only one, as they are more open to paying extra for something that is better.

Read the complete article for more details and insight on how produce companies can take advantage of this emerging trend.

Food Foresight provides trends intelligence for anticipating, planning for, and managing trends/issues likely to impact the agri-food chain. It is a collaboration of NST and the California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research at University of California, Davis.

Tags: produce, retail, grocery, Food Foresight, Kerry Tucker, Bill Bishop, The Packer

According to The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism report, how people get their news has changed. The State of the News Media 2012: An Annual Report on American Journalism states:

[T]he majority of Americans now get news through at least one digital, web-based device. While the desktop or laptop computer remains the primary digital platform for news (54% of Americans get news there), the number of consumers who get news on multiple digital devices is growing. Nearly a quarter of U.S. adults, 23%, now get news on at least two devices.

As people get more of their news online, news organizations are also making adjustments. Twenty percent of U.S. newspapers require a paying subscription for full digital access – a number that has doubled since last year. For those going online to get news, what better way to bring readers to the heart of the action as it happens than video?

The Wall Street Journal created a hub called WSJ WorldStream, on the video-sharing site Tout, for mobile video shot via smartphone by more than 2,000 journalists around the world. According to the Wall Street Journal, their video viewership has more than doubled in the past six months so it makes sense for the paper to expand video creation.

Video storytelling was also used during New York Fashion Week by ”… several fashion reporters … turning to Viddy and other forms of mobile video distribution to compliment their coverage.” Many felt video brought the clothing to life in a way still images couldn’t, and the format was perfect for short interviews with designers and fashion show attendees.

What can brands learn from these examples? Share the latest news about your brand, details about events as they happen, and provide how-to videos. When Apple released iOS 6, Mashable shared a hands-on how-to video about the new features, which brought the information to life and made the changes easier to understand.

Creating videos to share information with customers is not a new concept for many brands. However, with the advent of video sharing sites like Viddy and Tout, brands don’t need to – and are not expected to – create long, edited, fancy videos. Instead, information can be shared quickly and in easily digestible, 15-second clips. Bring brand stories to life with video, make your blog posts and social media updates more interactive, and give customers an authentic feel for what your company is doing. Social media has created platforms for closer connections between brands and customers, and video can only help strengthen this connection.

One of our clients, Markon Cooperative – a produce provider to the foodservice industry – does a nice job of providing timely produce updates to their customers and buyers via a weekly “Live From the Fields” video series. Markon’s Aug. 30, 2012 episode focused on the elevated insect pressure in the Salinas Valley at the time and what harvesters were doing to address the issue.

What do you think about companies integrating video into their communications? How could your company use video? What are the benefits?

It’s hard to believe, but one tiny bug is capable of wiping out California’s $1.8 billion citrus industry. The aphid-like insect is called the Asian citrus psyllid and it can carry a disease that kills citrus trees. There is no cure for the disease, and once a tree becomes infected, it will produce bitter, inedible fruit and eventually die.

Three years ago, members of our state’s citrus industry called on Nuffer, Smith, Tucker to help stop this pest from wiping out California’s beloved citrus trees. The goal was simple: convince homeowners to go outside and inspect their backyard trees for this pest, and report any possible finds to agriculture officials.

Ted Batkin, president of the California Citrus Research Board and NST client, and Kerry Tucker, who has a long history of being involved in strategic planning for the agriculture industry through Food Foresight, recently bylined an article for the agriculture industry publication The Packer. The article explains the approach Nuffer, Smith, Tucker took in combating this issue. Here is a recap of NST’s activities and results:

First we conducted qualitative research to identify the emotional drivers that would help us craft key messages, which led to the formation of a “death sentence” messaging strategy that would resonate with homeowners. Then, NST developed a comprehensive outreach plan that included a combination of broad-reaching tactics and hyperlocal activities in areas where the Asian citrus psyllid has been found.

Recent statewide media tours reached an audience of more than 1.3 million. Another 39.4 million impressions were earned through public service announcements, and radio and traffic spots aired throughout the Southern California region. The message is making its way to homeowners. With continued outreach, we can help save California citrus from a dangerous pest.

Read Tucker’s full article to get a more in-depth look at the strategies involved in raising awareness of the Asian citrus psyllid, and learn more about the pest by visiting CaliforniaCitrusThreat.org.

By Karen Ross and Kerry Tucker

A focus in many food policy discussions is the development of a substantial food system to feed a hungry world, and the trends we’re seeing internationally show there is an urgent need. Food has become a geopolitical hot potato this year. The uprisings in the Middle East and Africa reaffirm that food is a basic building block for peace, harmony and, of course, survival.

An article this year in the publication Foreign Policy spotlighted a world population that continues to explode, while farm production struggles to keep pace. As a result, world food prices are at an all-time high, according to the U.N. Food Price Index. Every day, there are nearly 220,000 new mouths to feed on the planet—a staggering number. By 2050, it is believed the world must double food production, while using fewer natural resources. All of this brings challenges and opportunities for California agriculture.

New, affluent sectors in countries around the world are on a growth spurt for the foreseeable future, with an anticipated growing demand for the type of products California farmers produce: animal proteins and specialty crops. The leading countries with emerging affluent sectors include China, India, Brazil, Korea and Mexico.

According to the Agricultural Issues Center at the University of California, Davis, China will more than triple its per capita income by 2030, from $2,802 to $10,718. This kind of wealth generation tends to result in first-step dietary adjustments that include more consumption of meat, dairy products, fruits, vegetables and nuts.

India’s numbers start smaller, from $965 per capita last year to $3,309 in 2030, but its population will continue to grow by 1 percent per year long after China’s population peaks in about 2030, according to Daniel Sumner, director of the AIC. As a result, India’s population will stay young and energetic for years to come, with a growth rate that could soon overtake China.

The food industry is well aware of these numbers. Companies like Nestlé, Procter and Gamble, Unilever, Heinz and Walmart have these countries in their sights. The food they’ll provide could easily be produced in California.

Because they’re located in one of only five regions on Earth capable of large-scale production of Mediterranean specialty crops, California farmers and ranchers are well positioned to prosper in the international marketplace.

Also working to the state’s advantage is the health profile of its product line. The 2011 Food Foresight trend report shows concern for obesity and diabetes rising worldwide. Add the rising cost of health care to the discussion and it’s bound to move nutrition and disease prevention center-stage in the health care debate, spotlighting foods thought to protect against the development of chronic disease—foods that are produced in California. This opportunity exists for all types of the state’s farmers and ranchers.

California agriculture is incredibly diverse: large farms and small, plants and animals, food and fiber, organic, conventional and biotech. It includes urban farmers, farmworkers and minority farmers. This diversity makes California agriculture stronger and more successful.

There is keen consumer interest in the thriving trend of local, regional food systems—the growth of farmers markets, CSAs and other direct-to-consumer marketing opportunities that are shortening the distance between eaters and farmers. This is the new and exciting frontier in our domestic markets; it presents opportunities for collaboration in the public policy arena. To encourage local farming, we must preserve farmland and maintain access to affordable water. There are enormous possibilities for agriculture if it works together to build new coalitions.

Yet there is tension in the search for common ground. Some consumer and stakeholder perceptions—small farms are good, “Big Ag” is bad—can get in the way of the cooperation required to meet the food demands of the future. On the other hand, belittling small, organic farms as unable to address global food security issues, or the demonization of one agricultural segment by another (“My way of farming is better than yours”) is not constructive. Regardless of size or farming practices, we need a continuum of farms and ranches operating as productively as possible while protecting our precious natural resources and the environment. There is truly a place for all in California agriculture.

One way to build coalitions is Ag Vision, a program spearheaded by the California State Board of Food and Agriculture to bring together diverse stakeholders who share a common goal: the long-term viability of California agriculture. Ag Vision is not the only answer but it is a good beginning, because this diverse group working with farmers and ranchers has spent more than two years focusing on what they could agree on, rather than fight over their differences.

This process will continue, with the goal being an agricultural system working harmoniously to meet the international opportunities and challenges ahead. The co-chairs of this effort are board member Luawanna Hallstrom and American Farmland Trust’s Ralph Grossi, who, along with board president Craig McNamara, would enthusiastically welcome your participation. For more information, see www.cdfa.ca.gov/agvision/.

We also urge you to join us in planning for the next farm bill. It is essential that we receive input from stakeholders about California’s priorities. This is the national food policy discussion—right now—and the farm bill will set the agenda. So let’s get together as one voice and set the tone for a future of collaboration.

(Karen Ross is secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Kerry Tucker is chief executive officer of the public relations consulting firm Nuffer, Smith and Tucker, and a member of the State Board of Food and Agriculture.)

Credit to California Farm Bureau Federation.

No doubt you’ve heard about the backlash surrounding 7-Eleven’s free Slurpee day on Monday.

Many consumers went to multiple stores looking to receive a free 7.11-ounce sample of the brain freeze-inducing treats, but left empty handed when samples ran out.

Sure, no big deal, we all know these things come with a  “while supplies last” caveat, but not “while free cups last.” Stores stopped giving away samples because they had run out of the special sample size cups, but full-size Slurpees were still available for purchase in many locations.

This left a lot of consumers scratching their heads and calling the supposed “bait and switch” tactic a “scam” on social media sites. Fuel was added to the fire when a USA Today article alluded that the 38 percent sales spike seen during last year’s promotion prompted the company to revisit the promotion again this year.

Sales figures are one of the most critical (who am I kidding, THE most critical) aspects of a company’s success, and while increases in sales are important, so is the longevity of the relationship with the consumer. My guess is the promotion probably hit its sales goals, but is more than likely missing the mark when it comes to increasing consumer trust and loyalty.

As the world’s population continues to grow, so does the demand for food supplies. By 2050, the world’s agricultural production will need to be doubled to meet this demand, but at the same time use less of the world’s natural resources. In this month’s California Farmer, NST’s Kerry Tucker and Dan Dooley of the University of California, highlight the tipping point of change the agricultural industry faces and the need for farmers, large and small, to work together.

From the best screw up in news media to how to double food production to feed the hungry, in case you missed it, here’s a sampling of information shared this week by the gang at NST:

Some believe there is an entire generation that has never dialed a 1-800 number. Where are these digital natives and other web-savvy consumers going to air their grievances? http://bit.ly/eOevmS

A website called Regret the Error, which follows corrections, clarifications, apologies, and trends in the world of journalism, has some fun each year by picking its annual “Error of the Year.” http://bit.ly/evL4kZ

Given the state of the U.S. economy, the recent news of the growing number of those losing their jobs and uncertainty in Congress about extending jobless benefits, we may be facing something bordering an epidemic of hungry, needy families. http://bit.ly/fpE0ds

To adorn the office of his new Brooklyn apartment, Saif Ahmed chose a truly one-of-a-kind piece of art. He bought a kit from online retailer DNA11.com to swab some of his cheek cells, and then mailed the sample to the company. http://on.wsj.com/ihisRi

With the launch of Places, Facebook began allowing businesses to merge their Page with a Place they’ve claimed. While there are some advantages for businesses focusing on generating foot traffic to a single physical location, merging has important disadvantages including lost functionality (at least for now). http://bit.ly/evygtK

To have success as a PR professional, as with all professions, it is essential to keep up with the latest news and techniques in the industry. http://bit.ly/ejS2hs

We’ve all been hearing about Facebook’s new promotions guidelines, and here they are http://on.fb.me/a0XuTZ.

We’re getting uncomfortably close to the day when there won’t be any surviving vets of Pearl Harbor or WWII.  The history books just don’t capture the heroism of hearing these stories from the mouths of grandfathers. http://bit.ly/ewtq91

Everybody loves viral videos. That’s why they’re “viral.” Ad agencies have been trying, in their own way, to replicate the success of viral videos to help their campaigns get exposure and new fans. http://on.mash.to/ggG72D

Nationally, 37 million Americans receive some sort of emergency food assistance, and that number has increased 46 percent in the last four years.  Given the state of the U.S. economy, the recent news of the growing number of those losing their jobs and uncertainty in Congress about extending jobless benefits, we may be facing something bordering an epidemic of hungry, needy families.

Here in California, food banks are currently moving 100 pounds of surplus or unmarketable fresh fruits and vegetables each year from farmers to needy families.  The objective is to get to 200 pounds per year, and I’m chairing a state Board of Food and Agriculture initiative to double the current amount of food going from farmers to needy families. Check out this California Farmer article on how we plan to get there.

And in the spirit of the holidays, The San Diego Union-Tribune (our client) is leading an aggressive food drive campaign to collect 1 million pounds of food.  Chicken of the Sea, another client of ours, helped kick start that campaign with a 1,000-pound product contribution.  Here’s how you can help: http://bit.ly/hKh083.

While many Facebook apps help create a personal experience for users, some of them may be getting too personal. According to a Wall Street Journal investigation reported last month, apps within Facebook “have been transmitting identifying information – in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names – to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies.” Basically, data gathering firms had access to User ID’s and the URLs users last visited online, which can reveal a user’s identity.

According to Facebook’s blog for developers and a blog from The Washington Post, Facebook will begin taking steps to encrypt these user IDs immediately. One Forbes blogger thinks the discussion and gradual rollout plan should appease the public while not radically changing protocols for developers. However, there are currently lawsuits in California and Rhode Island aimed at Facebook and Zynga, the site’s largest app-maker. And Facebook isn’t just facing a legal battle. Since election season is in full swing, they’ll also face a political one. Two prominent members of the U.S. House of Representatives have already written a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week asking him 18 questions about Facebook’s guidelines and responsibilities.

So, are all third-party applications on Facebook going to go away soon? No. But, as a brand manager, you need to understand the risks involved with using them. Review the privacy policies of the applications you use regularly and make sure you have a backup plan in place should one of them not work correctly or have to be taken down. Since the social media landscape continues to change rapidly, you need to have someone who understands the technology and helps you put safeguards in place.

Why does your customer (or consumer) buy from you rather than someone else?  We hear about quality a lot; the same goes for service and a company’s heritage. But are these tired phrases meaningful selling points that define your business?  Are they aligned with the attributes your customers or consumers value?

Creating competitive advantage is all about differentiation — formally scrutinizing what differentiates your organization, your company and products from the competition.  It’s truly about how you make your product stand out when it looks very much like your competitors’, and a few are ahead of the curve http://bit.ly/bLnCgq.