Agricultural News
American Pecan Council Wastes No Time "Shelling" Out Its Strategy to Market America's Native Nut
Thu, 14 Sep 2017 14:30:42 CDT
The newly organized American Pecan Council held one of its first board meetings this Wednesday in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director and alternate board member Ron Hays attended the meeting, during which he spoke with Cathy Calhoun of the creative company Weber Shandwick, who presented on the agency's marketing strategy planned on behalf of the council. You can hear Hays' complete interview with Calhoun, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of the story.
Upon walking into this newly forged relationship, Calhoun says she and her team saw nothing but opportunity for the American Pecan Council.
"We did a lot of research and dug in and found the American pecan story just wasn't being told," she said. "Pecans aren't getting their fair share of the uptake in other nuts and especially in the health conversation. There's a great health story that isn't being told."
In addition, she says there is also an amazing story about the pecan's heritage and obviously - people love the taste of pecans, too.
"That's what we've been lucky enough to get to help do," Calhoun interjected. "We're trying to frame the message, focused on health, heritage and taste - so, that we can tell the story in a focused way to really get some impact in the marketplace, and frankly, drive some awareness that we hope is going to drive a lot of demand for American pecans."
The nutritious qualities of pecans will be heavily promoted in the council's advertising, Calhoun says, since consumers have become increasingly health conscious over time; an aspect that Calhoun believes other nut varieties have positioned themselves on and ridden to achieve great success with.
"If you look at what's happening with almonds and walnuts, they've really taken that on and seen a lot of people looking at them very differently and our story is just as compelling if not better," Calhoun asserted, with the explanation that pecans are more than just pie filling. "We definitely want to be a part of that conversation - about health and also snacking. We love pie, but we want to drive other usages, especially in snacking and things that are a little more health oriented."
Calhoun insists she and her team are eager to work and grow with the American Pecan Council, now working to establish a physical office of operation. In the meantime, though, she is encouraging pecan lovers to visit their new website, at AmericanPecan.com.
"I see a lot of head room. We've been given a wonderful product to tell the story," she remarked. "I think we have an incredible council working with us and guiding this program."
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...
