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Dennis Weaver is a man happily committed to changing the food paradigm in the world. His company name and tag line is “Change Your Food - Change Your Life!™” and he believes we need new messaging that is consumer facing, entertaining and appealing to rebrand and reposition organic food.
Dennis’ new endeavor, The Organic Marketing Association, is designed to flip the organic food narrative over to the fun side; it’s upbeat, positive and sometimes a bit on the naughty side.
OPN had a chance to sit down with Dennis to learn more about The Organic Marketing Association and why it’s needed now more than ever.
OPN Connect: You say you are a happy, fun exciting group set to re-brand and reposition organic good food. How do you plan to do this? What’s your strategy?
Weaver: There is an absence of a national marketing voice to promote and move organic food forward. Instead of looking internally, preaching to the choir, our messaging is directed to the enormous 95% of the market that isn’t currently choosing to buy organic food. By speaking to a wider audience, the Organic Marketing Association is designed to fill that void.
We’re off to a running start with the release of our multi-genre CD Album - a compilation of 16 songs celebrating the joy that organic food brings to life. You can listen to our music here: www.ChangeYourFoodChangeYourLife.com.
Our songs have been played and heard in 194 countries and territories, Armed Forces Radio Europe & Pacific, all 50 States and Washington DC.
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OPN Connect: What’s the basic message you aim to get out on Organic Good Food?
Weaver: We position organic food as hip, healthy tasty, cool and relative – always.
The Organic Industry has tried to ‘educate’. We’re not here to educate, we’re here to sell. ‘Science’ doesn’t sell. When it comes to decision-making, the heart rules the mind and an emotional pitch will trump logic every time.
We want to allow consumers to actually enjoy their decision, rather than bother them with the food ‘politics’ of their choices.
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OPN Connect: Most of the images in your campaign are of fresh fruits and vegetables. Why is fresh produce so enticing to use in your upbeat rebrand of organic?
Weaver: Fruits & vegetables are the basics, the beginnings. Once you taste an organic tomato, would you ever question the flavor of an organic pasta sauce? Our campaigns also include milk, butter, liquor, beer, wine, steaks, chips, cookies and chocolate bars too.
OPN Connect: Can you give us some examples of the language you use around these images. How does being a bit naughty play into your scheme?
Weaver: Our latest campaign is “Organic. Eat. me.” This statement is the only organic tag lines that have ever gotten a smile or a laugh from a consumer.
Plus, the non-traditional “Organic. Eat. Me” campaign works well to garner publicity. At Expo West I wore a different shirt from our Organic. Eat me. collection every day.
OPN Connect: Why do you believe a positive upbeat message is needed now more than ever?
Weaver: The past 25 years of ‘values’ and ‘movement’ messaging by organic industry experts, delivered in the form of lectures, powerpoint , petitions and protests, have only resulted in a rather meager five percent market share.
Can we call this success? If organic food tastes the best, then why do we have only five percent market share?
The organic industry has been telling virtually the same old, tired story and the general public has perceived the organic community to always seem to be anti-this, anti-that, lecturing the consumer.
It’s time to view organic food as simply fun.
