SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California Pear Advisory Board is trying to lure retailers into season-long commitments to its 1997 promotion program of Bartlett pears with several incentives, including custom ads for retailers to run in local newspapers.
The commodity board, based here, said that for the 1997 Labor Day weekend, it will pay for run-of-press ads in food sections of major newspapers across the country for retailers who commit to California pears for the season, which runs from July to about the end of October.
With its in-store servicing program, the CPAB representatives will supply 1,500 stores in selected markets with consumer tear-off pads and nutrition cards, as well as education about proper ripening.
The CPAB's team of representatives will also put up point-of-sale information, including instruction cards to show consumers the various stages of ripening of the California Bartlett. The materials will offer tips on how to ripen the pears. On the back of the cards are recipes for pear dishes.
Since 1995, when the CPAB broke away from the California Treefruit Agreement, the organization has followed what it calls its 80-20 marketing approach.
"We do 80% of our marketing in 20% of the markets," said Marjorie Frank, the CPAB's director of promotion. "We're making very concentrated efforts in 18 markets." This year, the CPAB picked up Detroit as a new market, she added.
The CPAB will sponsor a variety of programs directed at consumers, including a media tour with Frank, who will use print, television and radio to convey the Bartlett pear message.
"Through the promotion activities, the CPAB seeks to promote California Bartletts by creating a win-win situation for both the retailer and the consumer," Frank said in a statement. "Retailers will be able to better market their Bartletts, and consumers will be happier with a ready-to-eat product."