Commission’s Email Marketing Program Expands Subscriber List to Nearly 170,000
To help build brand loyalty and maximize communication opportunities with the California Avocado Commission’s list of email newsletter subscribers, CAC designed a program to increase the subscriber list, developed a regular cadence of compelling content and implemented new engagement tactics including geo-targeting.
To attract new subscribers, the Commission used lead generation ads — digital ads designed to collect email addresses — on Facebook and Instagram. As a result, the subscriber list grew by 1,553 to reach nearly 170,000. The new subscribers then received four targeted welcome emails, the first of which was deployed directly upon signup. The follow-up welcome email series shared highly rated recipes and fruit availability information. This series reported impactful open rates with the initial email garnering a 33% average open rate, exceeding the industry standard of 20%.
All users — including existent and new subscribers — received a total of 12 emails from December 2024 – August 2025 based on a detailed editorial calendar to ensure a strategic mix of content. The content calendar highlighted key differentiators (local, sustainable), inspirational uses, availability reminders and unique handling and usage tips to motivate subscribers to prepare California avocado snacks and meals at home. Custom graphics showcased eye-catching recipes and photos of growers and their groves to encourage engagement with subscribers. Of the dozen emails, five were geo-targeted zip code-specific emails letting subscribers know when and where California avocados were available in their local area, encouraging readers to use the online store locator available at CaliforniaAvocado.com. These peak season emails drove 420 visits to the store locator page with an average 88% engagement rate, more than double the overall website engagement rate. The zip code emails averaged a 25% open rate, above the industry average of 20%.
Throughout the season, CAC implemented improvements identified in pre-season audits. These audits and updates are essential for ensuring the California avocado content shows up correctly in inboxes and meets certain email quality standards. The Commission monitored engagement during the season, segmenting the audiences based on their engagement ratings and focusing on what content the “five-star subscribers” engaged with. CAC tested different forms of content throughout the season and discovered that, overall, shorter content outperformed the longer emails— indicating that the key audience responds well to personalized and concise messaging.
From December 2024 through August 2025, the unsubscribe rate was 0.35% — CAC aims to keep this at less than 1%. The season’s click-through rate was 1.2% below the industry benchmark range of 5-10%, so the Commission will use data from this season to improve that metric for fiscal year 2026.
