360PR Blog

In 360PR’s 10th year, we are celebrating by sharing some of the things we’ve learned along the way in a “10 minutes with…” series featuring interviews with our practice leaders! Last time we chatted with SVP of our Entertainment & Electronics practice, Stacey Clement. Now we’ve sat down  with Victoria Renwick, SVP of our Healthy Living practice, to learn more about her and some of the trends she has spotted over the past 10!

What are some of the trends you’re seeing in the Healthy Living practice?

One of the most significant trends we’re seeing is the stepped up role consumers are playing in educating and empowering themselves before they make a purchase.  So much is happening before the consumer gets to the grocery store or other store or considers an online purchase.  Yes, price is still a consideration, but there’s a lot more that factors into what we buy these days.  This presents an opportunity for brands to act as educators, resources and connectors, instead of marketers.

How important is it for brands to “go green”?

The term ‘green’ has been thrown around pretty freely.  Brands were calling themselves and their products ‘green’ or ‘natural’ and the public, for the most part, took that at face value.  Consumers are more cognizant of green washing now and are making brands more accountable for their claims. People are more aware of how to read labels and investigate the products they are bringing into their homes  – and certainly there are a proliferation of resources at consumers’ fingertips to help. I love the Environmental Working Group site – The Skin Deep section is especially eye opening and a great place to decode confusing labels for cosmetics and health & beauty. The Organic Trade Association is also a great resource consumers can turn to for the latest news on organics and legislation as well as practical tips.

Green business practices are no longer a ‘nice to have’ but an expectation. We expect companies to be conducting business in a way that is ethically sound, better for the environment and better for us as consumers. A broad spectrum of CPG companies and food manufacturers has sustainability plans and goals in place to quantifiably demonstrate how they will be greener in the coming years. It’s all a step in the right direction.

Are there any particularly memorable 360 moments that stick out in your mind?

The way 360PR has been a leader in the social media space stands out to me.  Being part of that evolution over the last three years has been really exciting.  360 was one of the first agencies to really get the mom blogger space. We started connecting bloggers and brands in high touch settings like our Blunch™ series. That was right around the time I started here.

We’ve worked on some really fun campaigns over the years too. Just recently we were teaching the country to can as part of National Can-It-Forward Day, a campaign we created for the Ball® brand. From grassroots to top-tier media, we really struck a chord with people looking to eat more fresh and local year round.

You spent a good part of your early career in the event-planning industry.  How important do you find events to be to your client work here at 360PR and for public relations in general?

Events are part of our 360 full-circle approach.  We’re an agency that does events and does them well.  Events offer brands a high-touch, relationship-building forum with consumers and consumer-influencers, and that’s important as part of an integrated strategy to engage consumers.    At 360, we always have something exciting on tap – whether it’s cooking in the Muppets’ Kitchen or solving the Rubik’s Cube on the National Mall!  It’s also important to keep the formula fresh – virtual events via Livestream & Facebook help us extend the reach of ROI of a client’s investment in a physical event.

As the head of 360PR’s healthy living practice, have you found that your client work has had a significant impact on your personal life?

Absolutely. I’m so lucky to be exposed to the type of clients we have and the resources and knowledge that comes with them.  We’re PR practitioners but we’re also consumers.  Keeping on top trends for clients, you can’t help but take what you learn and apply it to your personal life.

For example, we conducted a speaking tour recently with food activist Robyn O’Brien on behalf of our Stonyfield Farm client. Robin’s a mom of four who compiled a staggering amount of information about our broken food system. As a new mom, I was a sponge, soaking up everything she had to offer.  I’ve bought her book, The Unhealthy Truth, for everyone of my friends who is a mother. It’s just too important not to share!

We also work with PBS KIDS.  When my son is ready to start watching TV or go online, I feel lucky to know what to look for when it comes to healthy, educational media. And as a busy mom, I really do rely on our clients’ services to make like easier. I use Peapod for grocery delivery every week (it’s a lifesaver!) and I do my family’s meal planning through Allrecipes.com.   This summer I planted a (small!) garden, started composting (it’s surprisingly easy!) and joined a CSA too – all things I probably wouldn’t have tried previous to heading the Healthy Living practice.

Filed under: 10 Minutes With Our Practice Leaders, 360 Public Relations, Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences, Food Industry, Green Marketing, Marketing to Moms, PR Industry by EliciaBasoli - 5 Comments →

Check out the top trends from Natural Products Expo East courtesy of Lindsay Durr, member of the 360PR Healthy Living Practice.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Events and Conferences, Food & Beverage PR, Food Industry by EliciaBasoli - 1 Comment →

by Lindsay Durr

This weekend Natural Products Expo West took over the Anaheim Convention Center displaying the latest and greatest in the natural and organic space. Several 360PR clients were in attendance including Nasoya, h2O spring water, Adora Calcium Supplements, and Stonyfield Farm with its larger-than-life yogurt cup booth!

The show spanned everything from dietary supplements to pet food to cleaning products and included a plethora of ways for consumers to make their lives healthier and more green. In the food space, gluten-free remained a buzz term for the second year in a row. We sampled gluten-free versions of everything from cupcakes to pizza to burger buns! Energy and “relaxation” drinks also continued to be a hot item; the LA Times posted an article about the trend which you can view here. Manufacturers also touted developments in green packaging including Seventh Generation’s new cardboard laundry detergent bottle.

For those of you at Expo (or observers of the natural space), what do you think will be this year’s top trends?

Filed under: Events and Conferences, Food & Beverage PR, Food Industry by Admin - No Comments →

Food, Inc., the new documentary directed by Robert Kenner and co-produced by Fast Food Nation’s Eric Schlosser, opened nationwide this weekend.  Food Inc. is less about Hollywood and more about a wide-eyed walk down the supermarket aisle – and the imagery utilized to market the foods we put into our carts every week.

My interest in Food Inc. stemmed from our work with Stonyfield Farm, a pioneer in the organic industry, which by the way has grown to $24.5 billion – but still only represents 3.5% of America’s grocery dollars.

You leave Food Inc. thinking, for one, I’ll never eat chicken again (and I haven’t since seeing the premiere a week ago). More important, though, is the understanding that our food is not farmed, but mass-produced. I guess that shouldn’t come as a surprise. But there’s some pretty startling footage in Food Inc. – casting a light on the treatment of farmers, workers and animals, and the chemical exposure of foods most of us eat on a regular basis, like ammonia-treated hamburger filler (in 70% of the hamburgers consumed in the US). I’m no expert, but something tells me Mr. Clean is better on your floors than in your food (though I’m a personally a fan of Seventh Generation and Method)

I also learned that 64% of Americans can now be categorized as obese or overweight, and one in three children growing up today will develop early-onset diabetes.  This last point was driven home in heart-wrenching fashion in the movie, when a young girl shopping with her parents reached for fresh fruit to add to their grocery cart and was told to “put them back, we can’t afford that.” The mother went on to explain that it’s more economical to feed her family at any number of fast-food chains.

The cost of organics is often raised as a barrier when we speak with food media and bloggers. But, as Stonyfield Founder Gary Hirshberg explained in a Q&A after the screening, greater consumer demand will help drive the price of organics down. To that end, Stonyfield recently gained distribution at Wal-Mart.“We need to be Goliath, not David fighting Goliath,” Hirshberg said in his appearance in Food Inc.With regard to Wal-Mart’s increased focus on organics, the chain’s dairy buyer explained, “We look at what the consumer wants and get behind it.”

Stonyfield’s site has a Q&A with Robert Kenner, and 30+ printable coupons for organic brands, including Stonyfield yogurt and more.

For food brands that have a good story to tell, and many do, getting consumers to look beyond imagery to read the label is key. Brands should be as clear as possible about what’s in – and not in – their products. The USDA is helping with its National Organic Program symbol. Motivated consumers are also searching online for ingredients and sources, an opportunity for brands to be part of the discussion in social networks, on blogs and in forums.

No matter what side of the discussion you’re on, Food Inc. is a must-see – just be sure to eat you go. If you miss it in theaters, the DVD should be out right about the same time as the Natural Products Association’s Expo East, coinciding with the Organic Products Expo in Boston September 23-26.

Filed under: Events and Conferences, Food & Beverage PR, Food Industry, Green Marketing, Politics by LauraTomasetti - 3 Comments →

The term "organic" has been the cause of some debate in the food industry lately. Organics were in the spotlight at last month’s Expo West , and recent high-profile news reports have discussed both safety considerations and the cost of organics.

Since the government began certifying food as organic six-and-a-half years ago, sales have at least doubled and 75 percent of the nation’s grocery stores now carry organic food. The New York Times recently published an interesting article asking if eating organic means eating well. The answer? According to Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food , Americans need to stick to real ingredients, specifically from the plant kingdom, in order to improve general health. Eating local, buying from sustainable farms and even growing your own fruits and veggies are key ways to do this.

Pollan claims that by eating sustainable foods, Americans can:

• Reduce the amount of land, water and chemicals used to produce the food we eat;
• Reduce the incidence of lifestyle diseases linked to unhealthy diets; and
• Reduce greenhouse gases from industrial meat production.

I recently spent a few days in New York on a whirlwind media tour with 360PR client Ball . The canning icon is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and we met with editors to discuss how canning is just as relevant today as it was over a century ago. Home canning is taking off for a number of reasons, from the economy offering consumers a way to store food in bulk to a growing interest in eating sustainable foods.

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Last weekend 47,000 people showed up in Anaheim, CA for Expo West , the world’s largest natural products show. Amid current economic instability and questions regarding the value of organics, the industry seemed to answer any skepticism with a resoundingly impressive show that included 10% attendance growth over last year’s event.

Going into Expo West, this turnout certainly wasn’t a guarantee. With consumers watching their grocery dollars more than ever and food safety scares resulting from the salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds and may be involved in nine deaths, organic and natural food products seemed especially vulnerable.

On March 3 The New York Times published It’s Organic, but Does That Mean It’s Safer? , reporting that the organics space is not immune to food insecurities since several organic products were part of the massive food recalls.

In response to concerns and to reaffirm the value of organics, The Organic Agriculture and Products Education Institute (Organic Institute) launched “Organic. It’s worth it.” – the non-profit’s first national consumer education and marketing campaign.

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Who knew an evening at the supermarket could be so much fun? Well, when you spend it chatting with the women behind Manic Mommies , Erin and Kristin, and Stop & Shop (a 360 client) Consumer Advisor Andrea Astrachan , it sure is.

Last week I got to leave the office and head to the Natick Super Stop & Shop to tape a podcast with the Manic Mommies and our client Andrea.  The topic of the conversation was how to reduce those nasty “pain points” moms experience at the supermarket. Andrea, a mom herself, offered some great ideas on how to get in and out of the store more quickly (lists really do help), how to save money by shopping seasonally (which means more money for new shoes, right?!) and how to get kids involved in the shopping process – those Easy Scan hand-held devices (they’re kind of like laser guns) certainly seem to be a big hit with the little ones.

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Filed under: Food Industry, Media and Press, Parenting by Admin - 1 Comment →

We are working with Stop & Shop and Giant Food on a program they recently launched called the “Real Deal,” which offers consumers special savings on summer essentials (think everything from sunscreen to hot dogs) through Labor Day.

As part of our plan to spread the word about the initiative we are working with Mary Nolan of the new Food Network show “Chic & Easy.” We are offering Mary to local morning shows to share her tips on how to throw “Summer Parties on a Shoestring Budget.” Last week I traveled to Baltimore and Washington D.C. to help execute two segments… and “Onion Girl” was born.

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Summer starts late in Boston but one sure sign it has arrived is the opening of our local farmers’ markets. 360PR’s office is just a few steps from a small but wonderful little farmers’ market in Copley Square that just reopened for the season.

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Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Boston, Food Industry, Green Marketing by Admin - No Comments →