The Organic Institute Launches ‘Organic. It’s Worth It.’

Major Education Campaign is Sponsored by the Organic Trade Association

GREENFIELD, Mass., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ — The Organic Agriculture and Products Education Institute (Organic Institute) has launched “Organic. It’s worth it.”, the non-profit organization’s first national consumer education and marketing campaign.

“The mission of this campaign is to answer consumer questions about organic with the clear message that organic is worth it in every way from health care and economics to farming and the environment. It will increase consumer trust, knowledge and purchase of organic products,” said Christine Bushway, president of the Organic Institute and executive director of the Organic Trade Association (OTA), the sponsor of the campaign.

Designed to be of service to families with young children at home, the campaign especially seeks to reach new mothers, the primary gateways to organic, according to OTA Marketing Director Laura Batcha, who developed the campaign with Haberman, the Minneapolis brand public relations firm, on behalf of the Organic Institute.

“Helping mothers make the connection between the personal health of their families and the health of the environment is key to this education and marketing initiative,” explained Batcha. “It gives them the rationale they need to make the organic purchase.”

“Organic. It’s worth it.” is a web-based campaign that uses banner ads with the look and feel of to-do lists as its primary educational tool. Each banner ad informs about how organics empower consumers to “check-off” tasks from their practical to-do lists while meeting goals on their aspirational wish lists.

“By buying organic food, for example, consumers can check off grocery shopping from their personal to-do lists and meet some of their wish list’s goals, too, like helping to keep their kids healthy and supporting the environment. It’s an empowering educational process,” explained Batcha.

The campaign accommodates a variety of topics of concern to families who might be open to choosing organic. Among these are organic’s connections to healthy kids, nutritious meals, food people trust, clean water and a healthy future. A separate banner ad takes up each of these issues.

All of the banner ads lead to a micro-site (http://www.organicitsworthit.com) that enhances the mood of the banner ads by speaking to consumers about organic agriculture and products in a friendly but non-preachy way. The ads will run March 5 through late May on sites such as CafeMom.com, NPR.org, CNN.com, Parents.com and IdealBite.com. A public relations campaign highlighting the benefits, worth and availability of organic products, conducted by Haberman, will accompany the banner ads and micro-site initiative.

The Organic Institute The mission of the Organic Agriculture and Products Education Institute (Organic Institute) is to educate about the attributes, benefits, and practices of organic agriculture and products today for better environmental and personal health tomorrow. To achieve its mission, the Organic Institute focuses on informing, educating and training agriculturalists, processors, academics and other professionals, as well as students, consumers, and the general public, in order to increase the amount of farmland under organic production and the number of people choosing organic products. www.theorganicinstitute.org .

The Organic Trade Association Founded nearly 25 years ago, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. Its 1,700 members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers’ associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA’s mission is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy. www.ota.com

Haberman discovers, develops and tells the stories of pioneering organizations and individuals who are making the world a better place. Named by FastCompany.com as one of the top brand storytellers in the nation, Haberman has developed successful brand campaigns for such organizations as Organic Valley Family of Farms, Annie’s Homegrown and Annie’s Naturals, National Cooperative Grocers Association, Vital Choice, Green Depot, Volvo for life Awards, TEL.A.VISION, Room & Board, the Community Reinvestment Fund, Stratasys, BioE, NEED magazine and its own event, the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships. (www.modernstorytellers.com).

Media: For interviews and sample banner ads, please contact Sue McGovern, sue@mcgov.com.

SOURCE The Organic Institute