Father’s Day is celebrated the third Sunday in June in over 50 countries around the world. And about three-quarters of Americans plan to celebrate on Father's Day in 2016, according to information from the National Retail Federation.
Many Americans will be celebrating Father’s Day by cooking their meals on the grill, as the holiday is one of the foremost grilling days of the entire summer. Black Gold Farms knows that dad loves potatoes, and they are absolutely certain that red potatoes are delicious when cooked over a fire. But far too few fathers are getting to enjoy grilled red potatoes on their special day, so Black Gold Farms is doing something to correct this oversight. And what’s more, they’re taking the entire meal up a notch – by encouraging families to salute their fathers by not just grilling red potatoes, but by smokin’.
The Salute Your Smokin’ Dad program from Black Gold Farms is both a promotion to drive incremental sales of red potatoes and an invitation for families to brag about their own fabulous fathers. The promotion aims to encourage cross-merchandising of red potatoes in retailers’ meat departments… an activity that U.S. Potato Board pilot programs found increased sales of the featured potatoes up to 78 percent. Attractive iron man posters grab attention with a call to “Salute Your Smokin’ Dad with Smokin’ Red Spuds”, while urging shoppers to serve up a man-sized meal featuring a recipe inspired by the National Pork Board. The posters also provide step-by-step directions for a “grill hack” that turns a standard grill into a smoker, making it easy for every family to be smokin’ for Father’s Day. Other elements include shelf signs and eye-catching Kwik Lok tags on Black Gold Farms as well as private label bags create awareness to drive added sales during the first half of June.
In addition, the program encourages family members to post stories about why their own father is a Smokin’ Dad. As a fun incentive, when consumers use the hash tag #SmokinDad when posting to Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram they will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win 1 of 100 Smokin’ Aprons. Any dad would be proud to wear this grilling must-have apparel item, which proclaims to all the world that he is not just grilling, I’m smokin’.
Red potatoes traditionally capture a stronger share of fresh potato sales during June, but this year retailers have an opportunity to leverage the Salute Your Smokin’ Dad program to really fire up sales with feature ads and cross-merchandising displays.
For more information:
Leah Brakke
Black Gold Farms
+1 701 772 2620