PURE MICHIGAN AND MICHIGAN APPLES JOIN FORCES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Denise Donohue
(800) 456-2753
(DeWitt, Mich.)— Those familiar Pure Michigan radio commercials will have a sweet angle this fall, advertising the availability of a fresh crop of Michigan Apples at grocery stores and farm markets.
In a new partnership with Pure Michigan, the Michigan Apple Committee (MAC) is bringing the state’s award winning travel and tourism campaign to the grocery department. Already familiar to millions of people, the swooping blue M and warm celebrity voice of Tim Allen will help draw attention to our state’s Number One fruit crop.
“In the past few years consumers have demanded more locally-grown products, and our homegrown Michigan apples are both locally grown and purely Michigan,” said Denise Donohue, MAC Executive Director.
Focus groups held in suburban Chicago last winter showed that the participants overwhelmingly preferred Michigan apples when made aware that they were locally grown, but could not identify them in the stores. When asked how Michigan growers should promote their products, participants recommended using the Pure Michigan campaign since they were already familiar with it.
MAC and Pure Michigan formally agreed to the partnership efforts early last spring. This October shoppers in Metropolitan Detroit and Chicago will hear the Pure Michigan Apple-themed ads, targeting areas where there are an abundance of grocery stores and families with children, the biggest buyers of apples. Alert shoppers may also hear the ads in grocery stores as well.
Pure Michigan has strong support in the Michigan Legislature. Governor Snyder recently added $10 million to the budget for the campaign.
In the past five years Pure Michigan has received awards from numerous organizations. Most notably it is among the top ten all-time best travel campaigns and was named #1 last year in social media promotions. It has also received several awards for best state tourism television, radio and welcome center commercials.
MAC is a grower-funded, nonprofit organization devoted to promotion, education and research activities to distinguish the Michigan apple and encourage its consumption in Michigan and around the world. For more information, visit MichiganApples.com.