LONDON, UK – Throughout November, USA Rice collaborated with leading Afro-Caribbean wholesaler Wanis on an advertising campaign for their parboiled U.S. long grain that appeared on 100 buses all over the UK: 75 in London, 15 in Birmingham, and 10 in Manchester. Collectively, the promotion covered 23 different bus routes and was seen by more than 3.8 million people.
“Raising awareness during the key run up to Christmas is important for sales of our U.S. long grain,” said Paul Harrison, marketing consultant to Wanis. “Our customers start to stock up on rice at this time for the important festive season which typically boosts our rice sales.”
The poster campaign led with the slogan, ‘Effortless Flavour Endless Sunshine,’ highlighting the ease of use and compatibility of U.S. rice in a range of typically festive Afro-Caribbean dishes.
Running in conjunction with the bus campaign was a series of highly visible backlit posters in bus stops and shelters, plus print media and radio ads, including media placings in African Voice newspapers (Britain’s leading African publication, with sales exceeding 50,000 copies per week). Additionally, radio advertisements aired on Premier Gospel and Sunrise Radio, totaling 525 spots across both stations, attracting more than 1.6 million listeners each week for four weeks.
“Our continued collaboration with Wanis over many years has delivered excellent awareness and results for U.S. rice in the UK,” said Eszter Somogyi, USA Rice director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. “Utilizing 100 traditional double decker buses in three major UK cities is an effective way to convey messaging about how U.S. easy cook rice, AKA parboiled long grain, complements a range of cuisines as consumers prep and plan for holiday celebrations.”
The UK is the single largest market for U.S. rice on the European continent, importing a variety of U.S. rice types including milled and parboiled long grain, medium, and short grain, as well as wild rice.