CAC’s Strategic Social Media Campaigns Address Consumer Concerns in Unprecedented Times

The California Avocado Commission’s (CAC) social media platforms have long provided the Commission with a means of engaging with consumers, joining top-of-mind digital conversations, building brand loyalty and driving purchases of the fruit. CAC’s social channels provide an interactive platform in which to feature new campaigns, showcase the premium fruit’s unique locale and share nutritional and educational content. This season, as consumers faced the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 and cultural unrest, the Commission pivoted its social media communications to provide consumers with additional content that addressed their concerns.

The Commission launched new animated videos on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube introducing consumers to “The best avocados have California in them” campaign and driving excitement around the start of the California avocado season. The videos yielded more than 4.7 million views across YouTube and other CAC social channels. In addition, CAC created unique illustrated GIPHY stickers designed along the same campaign theme that Instagram users could share on the photos populating their Instagram Stories. The stickers have been viewed more than 100,000 times thus far.

In March and April as COVID-19 began to impact the United States, CAC immediately adapted its social media communications to address the health concerns and sensitivities surrounding the crisis. The Commission shared food handling safety tips, including content that showed consumers how to wash and handle California avocados. CAC also quickly updated the consumer website to ease consumer concerns and make it clear that California avocado growers and distributors were following CDC recommended safety precautions.

As consumers began to spend more and more time at home due to COVID-19 restrictions, CAC helped them navigate meal prep and cooking with California avocado recipe videos. With consumers making less frequent trips to the grocery store, CAC also shared a video concerning how to freeze California avocados. Consumers reacted very positively to this video as it helped them make their California avocados last as long as possible.

As COVID-19 restrictions became the “new normal” in late April and May, the Commission shared additional California avocado recipes that would inspire consumers to try new things in the kitchen. This included promoted Pinterest pins, which generated more than 3.5 million impressions, and an Instagram TV video series with Chef Jason Hernandez who demonstrated step-by step how viewers could incorporate California avocados into various recipes.

In addition to conducting daily monitoring to gauge consumer sentiment during the pandemic, CAC monitored the cultural conversation around the Black Lives Matter movement through social listening and adapted as warranted. Toward the end of June, CAC slowly returned to selected social platforms with positive, inspiring recipe content that focused on wellness and self-care — topics that were trending on social media as consumers hoped for a reprieve from the current uncertainty.

From February to June, CAC’s posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter yielded an additional 1.5 million social impressions. By providing a range of relevant, informative, playful and inspiring content the Commission was able to engage with consumers across all its social media channels during unprecedented times.