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Golden Penguin Awards Recognize Outstanding

Merchandising for March Frozen Food Month

    Harrisburg, PA – The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) awarded 21 Gold Penguins and 3 Amber Penguins in recognition of the best promotions for the 30th annual March Frozen Food Month. In addition, 35 companies were recognized with Silver Penguin awards. The prestigious Golden Penguin Award symbolizes excellence in merchandising and promotion in the frozen food industry.   The special Amber penguin commemorates three consecutive Gold awards in the same category. The Gold and Amber awards will be presented at the Grand Awards Banquet during NFRA’s Convention in San Diego, CA, October 22, 2013. Silver awards are typically presented at the local level at appropriate frozen food association meetings. See the complete list of winners.   Judging was done by qualified marketing professionals from accredited colleges and universities. Judges looked for the best creative effort during a full 30-day program. Winning entries demonstrated the effective use of promotional elements such as in-store programs, advertising, consumer education, creative use of merchandising materials and special displays.   Joined by 18 participating brands, NFRA increased awareness for March Frozen Food Month by distributing a three-page FSI including coupons and package shots to over 36 million consumers across the country on March 3, 2013. NFRA partnered with DreamWorks Animation and the theatre release of The Croods. The tie-in encouraged consumers to Discover A Whole New World of Frozen and enter the DreamWorks Family Adventure Sweepstakes hosted on NFRA’s EasyHomeMeals.com consumer website. Fans of NFRA’s Easy Home Meals Facebook page had the chance to win a Freezer Giveaway courtesy of Hussmann. A Hussmann® 6.73 cu. ft. glass top freezer was awarded each week during March.   The promotion was enhanced by many PR initiatives. A behind-the-scenes video told the story of the frozen food journey from the field to the family table and was pitched to national media and used online. A Cool Food panel of bloggers acted as frozen food ambassadors illustrating the message that frozen food is Real Food - Frozen. Our Cool Food Panelists were: Estela of Weekly Bite, registered dietitian; Alison of Ingredients, Inc., nationally known cookbook author and recipe developer; and Angie of Eclectic Recipes, recipe developer and blogger. Each blogger linked to NFRA and Easy Home Meals from their own websites and developed recipes and tips in support of March Frozen Food Month.   Golden Penguins will also be awarded for quality marketing plans during June Dairy Month and the June/July Ice Cream & Novelties display contest. For more information on any of the Golden Penguin competitions, contact NFRA at (717) 657-8601.