During a meeting of Chilean cherry exporters, the results of the last promotional campaign and the strategy to be applied for the next season, were analyzed. The meeting was attended by two representatives of the agency that carries out the campaign in China; Steve Lee, Publicis Business Director; and Patti Sun, CEO of BetterWay China (Publicis partner company), who had the task of informing the industry about the results and new actions.
The meeting was held last week and was attended by about one hundred representatives of cherry producing and exporting companies. The meeting was led by the President of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (ASOEX), Ronald Bown; the Chairman of the ASOEX Cherries Committee, Cristian Tagle; the Marketing Assistant of ASOEX, Ignacio Caballero; in addition to Miguel Canala-Echeverría, General Manager of ASOEX; as well as Bárbara Sepúlveda, ProChile Sectoral Brands professional, and Andrea Sáez, ProChile Agroindustry Sector Coordinator.
"The results obtained last season are in sight. The actions taken in E-commerce, retail, public spaces, television, and other Chinese media allowed us to impact on more than 376 million consumers. These positive results confirm the need to continue with this campaign next season, and hopefully with the participation of more exporting companies. For it is with these actions that the Chilean cherry's presence is strengthened, benefiting the entire industry, "said Ronald Bown, President of ASOEX, during the event's inauguration.
Bown, took the opportunity to thank attendees for their support of the 2017-2018 cherry promotion campaign, delivered by the Fund for the Promotion of Silvicultural Exports of the Ministry of Agriculture, managed by ProChile.
Promotion to meet the industry challenges
During 2016, Chile became the main exporter of fresh fruits from China, as well as being the main supplier of cherries in this market, with almost 98% of imported cherries arriving in China's winter of China, coinciding with The Christmas and New Year festivities, periods in which there is a great consumption given that the Chinese population gives a meaning of prosperity and success to the color red. This gives cherries the sensation of a premium product, which proves to be a very good alternative as a gift for family and friends.
"The main challenge of Chile's cherry industry is that we are rapidly increasing our export supply, and are currently exporting about 20 million boxes. We believe that within the next 5 years we will reach around 30 or more millions of five kilogram boxes, a volume that needs a consumer market. If we add that to the fact that our cherry season is produced in a very short time, about eight weeks, which gives us little room for consumption. Therefore, the goal of our campaign is to increase, especially consumption before and after the Chinese New Year, and we are doing this with a campaign that last year involved $ 5 million for a total of 10 weeks of activities, and which we will maintain this year, "said Cristian Tagle, President of the ASOEX Cherries Committee.
For its part, Ignacio Caballero, ASOEX's Marketing Manager, pointed out that during the 2016-2017 season, the target group was the urban population in 37 cities in China aged 18-50. "In terms of value, cherries are the third product in the basket of Chilean fruit exports, accounting for 14% of the total exported in Chilean fruit in dollars, due to the high prices that these can reach. For example, consumers in China can pay on average between $ 20 and $ 45 for a kilo of cherries at the retail level. "
2017-2018 Promotional campaign
Publicis' Business Director, Steven Lee said that this new promotional campaign, in addition to maintaining the amount of 5 million pesos for its implementation, will increase the number of cities. "Last year we covered 37 cities, corresponding to Tier 1, 2 and 3, and this year we want to reach 48 cities, also integrating Tier 4 and Tier 5 cities for the potential consumption they represent. In addition, to coordinate and better control the campaign we will hire a professional in China, "he said.
Patti Sun, CEO of BetterWay China, added: "We realized that in the first three cities there is a high consumption, especially through E-commerce, while Tier 4 and Tier 5 are markets still love going to the shops and buying their fruits directly. In addition, it should not be forgotten that the growth of the Chinese economy, is also signifying an increase in the purchasing power of the population and therefore, acquire cherries from Chile. The Tier 4 and Tier 5, know the cherries, want to consume them, especially during festive times, but are frustrated by the lack of supply."
The representative of BetterWay China added that some aspects that will be enhanced this season are actions at the level of E-commerce, and markets
Wholesalers: "Although the last campaign's results were very positive, there are aspects which we want to improve, so we have defined further actions at the E-commerce level, keeping what we are doing with T-mall and JD.com, but increasing participation in other regional-level platforms. We will increase the actions at the wholesale market level as well. "
"I think we're on a better path than last season. We have seen a proposal that reflects the improvements and proposals in relation to what was done the previous season, which ensures a better direction. I believe that besides strengthening the marketing team that currently works in the campaign, through the hiring of a marketing manager in China, allows us to spread the campaign among importers and distributors of the item, throughout the season as well as support in the supervision and Control on the ground of the large number of actions being managed," concluded the Chairman of the ASOEX Cherry Committee.
Source: asoex.cl