Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1268831
ALMOND COMMUNITY Almond Board of California 16 while still being creative and light-hearted in marketing efforts, highlighting almonds as a great go-to, nutrient-packed, healthy snack. At the end of March, ABC quickly adapted its advertising plan and leveraged media opportunities that had not even been considered before COVID-19. For example, ABC was a lead sponsor of the virtual National Football League (NFL) Draft on ESPN. Being one of the only sporting "events" that was able to carry on during the pandemic, this advertising opportunity provided ABC with the ability to reach a vast number of consumers while they were quarantined – and tune in, they did. The 2020 NFL Draft saw its largest viewership ever with 19.6 million total viewers and 55 million video-on-demand views, a 35% increase over the 2019 NFL Draft. During this time, ABC was also very adept at looking at advertising vacancies – many brands had to pull their advertisements from prime locations – and considering channels that more people were likely to watch since they were now spending all their time at home. After considering various options, the Almond Board secured new broadcast placements on the American Broadcasting Company's "Today Show," NBC cable networks (Bravo, E!, USA) and ESPN audio (during the 2020 NFL Draft and the "Golic & Wingo" show). With those additions, the Almond Board generated 43.5 million more consumer impressions than had been planned in the month of April, alone. Finally, the Almond Board saw these necessary pivots in marketing tactics as an opportunity to explore targeting a younger demographic on social media. ABC increased its advertising investment on YouTube and placed advertisements on specific shows streamed through YouTube, such as "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," "Saturday Night Live," "Late Night with Seth Meyers" and "The Voice." ABC also placed an advertisement on the channel called Twitch, shown below, which is a hub for e-sports or multiplayer video games. In addition, ABC worked with three health-oriented, e-sport influencers who provided live commentary on the benefits of eating almonds to followers who watch them they play video games. Further, ABC's North America marketing team conducted a hashtag challenge on TikTok, a social media channel that has become tremendously popular – achieving more than two billion downloads of the application – among young consumers and their families who were quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reflecting on the results, to date, of ABC's revised advertising plan from April to June, Jeffers said the California Almonds brand earned 17% more impressions than would have been earned through the original plan due to lower media costs and more viewers tuning in. Almond Board staff are committed to stretching grower dollars as far as possible to effectively and efficiently promote California almonds across the globe. To learn more about the efforts of ABC's Global Market Development team around the world, please contact Vice President of Global Market Development Emily Fleischmann at efleischmann@almondboard.com. "I'm a mother and so I want to be an advocate for the great things in life and be a great example. I sincerely reach for almonds on the daily to fuel myself… I'm kind of a pusher for things that I love." — Kerri Walsh Jennings