Smart spend
The ideas behind the results
Avocados, Nursery, Cherries, Summerfruits / Growing domestic demand
Read time: 3 minutes
Growers don’t just want marketing that looks good. They want to know it is working hard.
That means campaigns built on evidence, designed to solve real market challenges, and delivered in ways that stretch levy investment further.
Across avocados, nursery, cherries and summerfruit, Hort Innovation-funded activity is showing how smart marketing and education can change consumer behaviour, create demand and make every dollar work harder.
Explore the results
Educate Consumers
Avocados: changing the squeeze
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Australians love avocados, but 2025 research by Australian Avocados revealed a surprisingly costly habit in the supermarket aisle: more than half of Australian shoppers admitted to squeezing the middle of an avo to test for ripeness.
With every squeeze having the potential to bruise the fruit, and two in three saying they handled up to three avocados each shop, that’s a lot of growers’ hard work being in danger of being discarded before it has the chance to get to the checkout.
The Marketing Team devised a simple, memorable and deliberately playful solution to the challenge – an education campaign that urged shoppers to ‘check the neck’ rather than squeezing in the middle.
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To make that message stick, Australian Avocados enlisted Eddie Williams (pictured with Hort Innovations’ Victoria Zourkas), Australia’s Strongest Man titleholder and Australia’s Got Talent finalist, to front a campaign that turned a practical education message into a catchy tune and saying that shoppers could remember at the exact moment they were making a purchase decision:
“Are you bruisin’ while choosin'?” and “The Neck is where to check”.
To make that message stick, Australian Avocados enlisted Eddie Williams, Australia’s Strongest Man titleholder and Australia’s Got Talent finalist, to front a campaign that turned a practical education message into a catchy tune and saying that shoppers could remember at the exact moment they were making a purchase decision:
“Are you bruisin’ while choosin'?” and “The neck is where to check”.
Campaign Snapshot
Goal
Help shoppers choose ripe avocados without bruising fruit
Outcome measures
160 pieces of coverage with 13 million opportunities to see, including The Morning Show
Channels
Video, PR, social, website, influencer (Strongman Eddie Williams)
Grower value
Better handling, stronger eating experience, less risk of fruit disappointment
Increase demand
Putting a price on plants
Consumers often think of plants as a lifestyle choice rather than an investment. The challenge for the nursery industry was to reposition greenery as something that also adds real dollar value to a property.
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Hort Innovation and Greener Spaces Better Places partnered with Domain to quantify how much, in dollar terms, having green spaces increases a property’s value.
The Plant Value Report analysed property listings and found that homes marketed with greenery performed better.
In a country obsessed with property prices, that gave the campaign a strong media hook:
the value of adding greenery to a property was more than aesthetic – it could literally increase house prices.
The campaign tapped into the credibility of Dr Nicola Powell, Domain’s Chief of Research & Economics, and Interiors expert Neale Whitaker to expand its mainstream media and social media reach well beyond a standard advertising campaign.
In a country obsessed with property prices, that gave the campaign a strong media hook:
the value of adding greenery to a property was more than aesthetic – it could literally increase house prices.
The campaign tapped into the credibility of Dr Nicola Powell, Domain’s Chief of Research & Economics, and Interiors expert Neale Whitaker to expand its mainstream media and social media reach well beyond a standard advertising campaign.
Print & digital coverage
North Central Review
The Fold
Mortgage Professional Australia
Australian Broker
Social coverage
Cairns Post
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The Mercury
Courier Mail
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Campaign Snapshot
Goal
Reignite consumer interest in plants and greenlife to grow domestic demand
Channels
Domain research partnership, earned media, social, influencer/spokesperson content (Dr Nicola Powell, Domain’s Chief of Research & Economics and Interior expert Neale Whitaker)
Outcome measures
500+ media items, 20 million opportunities to see, 2,100+ website views (Plant Value Report access), google searches for ‘plants’ and ‘greenery’ up 16% during the campaign
Collaborate for impact
Get the first bite right
For cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots, the last stage of the supply chain is in store.
That is where shoppers see the fruit, judge quality, compare price, choose what to buy and decide whether to come back for more. So it is also where handling, storage or presentation issues can make a big difference to the purchasing and eating experience.
Retail store staff, who may not have had specific training in handling seasonal fruit, play a key role in this final step.
Hort Innovation’s cherry and summerfruit campaign exploited that opportunity;
creating a multi-industry retail education program for store staff.
For cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots, the last stage of the supply chain is in store.
That is where shoppers see the fruit, judge quality, compare price, choose what to buy and decide whether to come back for more. So it is also where handling, storage or presentation issues can make a big difference to the purchasing and eating experience.
Retail store staff, many of whom have no specific training in handling seasonal fruit, play a key role in this final step.
Hort Innovation’s cherry and summerfruit campaign exploited that opportunity;
creating a multi-industry retail education program for store staff.
Better-trained staff and stronger merchandising can help protect fruit quality, improve the shopper experience and support conversion at the point of purchase.
Instead of running separate programs with similar objectives, the campaign brought the categories together around shared goals: stronger visibility, better presentation, improved quality and clearer store and consumer education.
The campaign reached 950 stores, an 18 per cent increase year-on-year, and delivered 6,200 retail training sessions. It also achieved a 9 per cent cost saving, showing the value of collaboration when industries are working towards aligned outcomes.
In store, KPIs improved by 8 per cent for cherries and 4 per cent for summerfruit, across presentation, handling, quality and storage.
Campaign
Specials
Stores reached
Increase year-on-year
Retail training sessions
Stores reached
Increase year-on-year
Retail training sessions
Cost saving
Cherry KPI increase
Summerfruit KPI increase
The multi-industry approach was a practical way to build scale, reduce duplication and make the investment work harder across more than one industry.
Its success demonstrated how industries with shared challenges can achieve more together than they might alone.
The multi-industry approach was a practical way to build scale, reduce duplication and make the investment work harder across more than one industry.
Its success demonstrated how industries with shared challenges can achieve more together than they might alone.
Campaign Snapshot
Goal
Grow domestic demand by improving seasonal fruit visibility, quality and presentation in retail
Approach
Multi-industry retail education and merchandising campaign
Reach
950 stores, up 18 per cent year-on-year
Training
6,200 retail training sessions delivered
Outcomes
Retail merchandising KPIs improved by 8% for cherries and 4% for summerfruit
Efficiency
9% cost saving
Grower value
Better in-store handling and presentation at the final point before purchase, delivered through a more efficient collaborative model
Through research, marketing and trade, we work with growers, industry and partners to support innovation, grow demand and open new markets for Australia's $18.4 billion horticulture sector.
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