Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you can’t help but notice the increased addition of avocados to menus ranging from high-end restaurants, right on down the ladder to some of the “healthier” fast food chains. It’s no accident that Red Robin is pushing avocado, Wendy’s now has a Smashburger, Subway has the Turkey & Bacon Avocado, Burger King has their Alfresco Burger, and so on.
WHY and HOW did this happen?
The answer to both the WHY? and HOW? are the same:
MARKETING
Oh sure, at first you might have thought that there are so many avocados available that Subway was just dying to put them to good use. Perhaps you thought the world suddenly woke up and got really excited about this interesting powerhouse of a fruit. In either case, you would have been wrong. The California Avocado Commission did what all associations should be doing on behalf of their membership: It CREATED Demand.
In the real world, this is what associations and organizations DO on behalf of their membership.
The CAC (just laughing because of how that acronym would be pronounced in my home city of Boston) isn’t just about legislative action and education on behalf of the growers. What they have done is essentially – the initiation of a MARKETING PUSH (the implementation and execution of a full-blown, well-conceived marketing strategy).
The CAC has targeted CONSUMERS – supplying them with education (nutritional information), tips, and a slew of recipes.
The CAC has targeted RETAILER – educating them on how to handle avocados, how to display avocados (merchandising/point-of-purchase), and how best to promote them (i.e. a sampler of guacamole and chips next to the avocado display).
The CAC has targeted restaurants and Chefs – showing them great new ways to incorporate avocados into fresh new menu items.
The takeaway here is two-fold: The California Avocado Commission is earning its membership fee (adding value) by representing growers, but more importantly – helping its member increase demand for their supply. The California Avocado Commission is a great example of increasing awareness and increasing proliferation as an integral driver of demand generation.
And lest you think that a post focusing on avocados, has nothing to do with your business – you would be dead wrong. Any business can utilize the value of a lesson that reinforces the necessity to create a market, before you serve a market. In the case of CAC, the growers were doing “okay” – but no flourishing the way they are today with the increased demand for California Avocados.
Have A GREAT Day!
…Dr. Marc & The Mind Virus Team