May '11 PR Rankings Issue - Odwyerpr.com
May '11 PR Rankings Issue - Odwyerpr.com
May '11 PR Rankings Issue - Odwyerpr.com
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REPORT<br />
Food industry taps firms for $50 million <strong>PR</strong> push<br />
Food industry trade groups<br />
the Grocery Manufacturers<br />
Association and the Food<br />
Marketing Institute have<br />
tapped three <strong>PR</strong> firms to guide<br />
a $50 million industry campaign<br />
highlighting new “front of<br />
pack” nutrition labeling.<br />
By Greg Hazley<br />
Omni<strong>com</strong>’s BBDO New York,<br />
along with independent <strong>PR</strong> firms<br />
Edelman and FoodMinds, won a<br />
<strong>com</strong>petitive pitch for the year-long<br />
campaign to build public awareness of<br />
the industry’s effort to put more information<br />
about packaged foods in front of<br />
the eyes of consumers.<br />
The new labeling has been called<br />
Nutrition Keys, a voluntary, industrystandard<br />
labeling system to be displayed<br />
on the front of food and beverage<br />
packages that highlights data like<br />
calories, fat, sugars and fiber content,<br />
among other information.<br />
Pamela Bailey, President and CEO of<br />
24<br />
MAY 2011 WWW.ODWYER<strong>PR</strong>.COM<br />
GMA, said an “exhaustive selection<br />
process” was carried out to hire the<br />
three firms.<br />
BBDO will also work with sister<br />
firms Integer, PHD and Proximity.<br />
Bailey said the goal of the Keys initiative<br />
is “providing consumers — especially<br />
busy parents — with the information<br />
they need to make informed decisions<br />
when they shop.”<br />
Point-of-purchase displays, advertising<br />
and <strong>PR</strong> and digital/social media are<br />
all expected to play a part in the effort.<br />
FMI president and CEO Leslie<br />
Sarasin added in a statement: “We are<br />
<strong>com</strong>mitted to improving the health and<br />
nutrition of our customers, and have<br />
We create and move markets<br />
for forward thinking <strong>com</strong>panies.<br />
Merritt Group is proud to be named as one of the “Top 15 Technology fi rms”<br />
by O’Dwyer’s Public Relations News.<br />
At Merritt, we <strong>com</strong>bine the right mix of <strong>com</strong>munications channels—whether it’s <strong>PR</strong>,<br />
marketing strategy, creative design or social media—to ensure that your messages<br />
resonate with the audiences that matter most.<br />
We have dedicated practices in Government, Enterprise Technology, Communications<br />
& Networking, Security, Healthcare and Clean Tech.<br />
To fi nd out more visit www.merrittgrp.<strong>com</strong><br />
Reston, VA | San Francisco, CA<br />
In response to Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, the trade groups that represent U.S. food<br />
and beverage manufacturers have devised the “Nutrition Keys” labeling system, a series of black<br />
and white icons revealing nutritional content to be displayed on the front of foods and beverages.<br />
gathered some of the best minds in the<br />
business to help construct a creative and<br />
successful consumer education campaign<br />
that will reach consumers at the<br />
point-of-purchase and help them<br />
achieve a healthy diet.”<br />
Inspired in part by First Lady<br />
Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign,<br />
as well as the specter of FDAimposed<br />
guidelines, the food industry<br />
said in January that it was implementing<br />
a voluntary plan to display nutrition<br />
data more prominently on food packages.<br />
The new labels are slated to appear on<br />
approximately 70% of food products by<br />
next year. <br />
Communications<br />
& Networking<br />
Enterprise Technology<br />
Government<br />
Clean Tech<br />
Healthcare<br />
Security