- Kamau High

NEW YORK Edible Arrangements on Sunday will launch its first national TV campaign.
 
Created by Hot Dish, Minneapolis, Edible's agency for the past five years, one of the two 30-second spots, "Reactions," shows various people -- ranging from a woman to a group of children -- gratefully receiving the company's fresh-fruit arrangements while a woman's voiceover details why she sent them.
 
"One of our key insights from research was that when people take time to send something from Edible there is a tremendous amount of emotional feedback," said Stephen Thomas, client vp, marketing. "People love hearing 'How nice of you to send this to me.' We incorporated that into our creative."

Edible Arrangements has grown quickly. The company has 700 retail locations worldwide, up from 464 last year. One of its most recent openings was in
Dubai.
 
Edible Arrangements targets women between the ages of 25-54. As such, the spots will air on channels such as E!, Oh and the Food Network. The company also bought online search terms such as "anniversary gift" and "birthday gift."

The intention of the campaign is an effort to maintain sales between peak sales times such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
 
"We did some research that solidified for us that the target audience was time starved and looking for something to impress. We needed to take a step back to educate people on Edible's uses," said Jen Campbell, vp, account supervisor, Hot Dish. "This is the first time we're showing product in a real-life setting. Customers can start to visualize how to integrate it into their everyday life."