The PEI Potato Board, the Department of Tourism and Culture, and the Department of Agriculture are proud to announce the overwhelming response of the “Pack your Appetite for Prince Edward Island ”campaign that was launched in November 2009.
As part of the campaign, there was a contest featured on four million PEI potato bags, which were placed on store shelves throughout Central-Eastern Canada. The contest invited participants to register online for a chance to win a variety of prizes, including complimentary PEI culinary vacations. The contest surpassed 100,000 contest entries during the four-month period.
“We can use the size of our province to our advantage and, when it comes to combining resources and working together on projects like this, it’s a win-win situation,” says Minister of Tourism and Culture Robert Vessey. “We need to continue to work together wherever it makes sense and, in this case, we are targeting the same geographic markets and the same demographic profiles.”
Approximately 65% of people who entered the contest provided the website permission to contact them again in the future. In addition, there were over 5,000 requests received for the Prince Edward Island Visitor Guide. The growing database of newsletter subscribers will serve as a communications platform for future dialogue with the Potato Board and Tourism PEI.
“We had excellent participation from our retail partners,” says Boyd Rose, Chairman of the PEI Potato Board. “The produce section does not always offer promotional possibilities, so the retailers were keen to promote the contest through our marketing co-op program. Potato sales in Central-Eastern Canada have been up by over 12 %, with significant increases in key markets.”
Agriculture Minister George Webster sees implications that go beyond the campaign. “This success has shown us the value the PEI brand still holds in the marketplace,” said Minister Webster. “In an age when consumers want to know where their food comes from, we need to re-focus our efforts and build our brand again.”
Jeff McCourt, the president of the PEI Culinary Alliance is also pleased with the overwhelming success. “The Culinary Alliance was recently created to promote exactly this kind of cooperation between sectors,” said McCourt. We are already looking at similar promotions with the mussel and oyster industries.”
The PEI Culinary Alliance is made up of various stakeholders including: the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Tourism and Culture, the Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, along with representatives from the PEI Seafood Processors Association, Tourism, PEI Potato Board, Culinary Institute of Canada, PEI Restaurant Association, PEI’s Chef Association, The Meetings and Convention Partnership, and various other members at large.
The goal of the Alliance is to position Prince Edward Island as a premium brand in tourism and food exports (lobster, potatoes, oysters and mussels). By finding unique ways to collaborate with stakeholders, the Alliance will work together to build the Prince Edward Island brand.
With several marketing and promotional ideas in development among stakeholders, the Culinary Alliance will continue to build Prince Edward Island experiences that increase awareness and exposure of Island products over the next few years.
For more information about the PEI Culinary Alliance, please contact Jeff McCourt at jeff.mccourt@alc.ca.