A group of Mahoning Valley farmers markets recently combined their efforts and wallets to launch a public relations and advertising campaign to herald the benefits of their enterprises.

The Mahoning Valley Farmers Market Network worked with Pecchia Communications to develop a media pitch and a series of commercials that ran from May to September.

“The increased visibility made a big difference in attendance and sales,” said Cassandra Clevenger, community resource coordinator at Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, which supports the farmers markets and coordinated the campaign. “The Warren market even hit a record year in sales and the commercials played a big role in this accomplishment.”

The media publicity capitalized on the newness of the recently established network and the anticipation of the farmers markets last spring in Youngstown, Warren, Austintown, Howland, Hubbard and Niles.

The TV spots emphasized the freshness, healthiness, local source and value of food sold at the markets.  

Pecchia Communications worked with representatives of seven different farmers markets to create the commercials — two in Youngstown and one in each of the other communities.

“Collaborating on the advertising campaign afforded us an opportunity to encourage people to come together and shop from local farmers,” said Cassandra.

The spots ran on WFMJ-TV and WBCB-TV, and the stations’ creative affiliate, Triad Productions, worked with Pecchia Communications to craft the ads. Ernie Brown, retired Vindicator regional editor, served as the voice.

Check out one of the commercials at this link.

Dan Pecchia, president of Pecchia Communications, offered the following suggestions for smaller organizations considering new advertising campaigns: 

• Always think about PR first. If there’s any “news value” in the campaign, capitalize on that in full before moving onto paid advertising once the news value has been drained. 

• If TV ads are necessary and the budget is small, focus on one TV station. This can reduce the cost of dealing with multiple media suppliers and can incentivize the one station to be helpful with pricing.

• Keep the message simple. There’s not enough time in a 30-second commercial (or a 90-minute documentary) to cover all of the things all of the board members and senior management team think are important. Good commercials dramatize one or two key messages. Save the laundry list for the website.

•  Use graphics. This is especially true if you’re promoting a list, schedule or other information that isn’t video-friendly. Attractive type and effects (that are on-brand) can sustain interest in the numbers.

• Leverage social media. Posts on the networks your audiences follow can promote not only the commercials but derivatives you can create from the video captured to create the commercials but left on the cutting-room floor. 

To learn more about executing a marketing campaign on a challenging budget, contact us here.