Zuckerman Opens Olive Campaign By Targeting Foodservice Industry

Zuckerman Fernandes & Partners here launched its first print campaign for California Ripe Olives last month as part of a $2 million marketing and advertising effort aimed at the foodservice industry and consumers.
The ads feature olives arranged into universal symbols, such as a question mark, smiley face and dollar sign. The text poses such questions as, “Wondering how to add some excitement to your menu?” The tagline for the campaign is “Try California Ripe Olives.”
“The goal of the campaign is to make foodservice [workers] and consumers aware of California olives and their high quality, which is known [to surpass] that of Mediterranean imports,” said Ira Zuckerman, agency president and chief executive officer.
Ads are appearing first in foodservice trade magazines, and will run in consumer publications later in the year, according to Zuckerman.
“We think [foodservice] is a good place to start,” said Jan Nelson, marketing director for the California Olive Committee. “Sales analysis shows that more than 45 percent of California Ripe Olive sales are in this sector.”
ZF&P also redesigned the California Ripe Olives logo, which is used in all of the print work. The square logo features a drawing of a shiny black olive floating on a cornflower blue background, sandwiched between the words “California” and “Ripe Olives.”
“The new logo was designed to brand California olives because it emphasizes where they come from,” Zuckerman said. “It helps make a great product stand out from the crowd.”
ZF&P won the account in late December, following an informal review of several West Coast agencies. The client had previously handled most of its advertising in-house. In-store sales promotions are usually conducted by individual olive processors, according to Zuckerman.