Widgets, Social Networking and Web Site Improvements May Yield Big Results
The National Mango Board (NMB) continues to build a strong digital foundation to increase its online presence. By making constant updates to the mango.org Web site, delving further into social media platforms and embracing viral elements, the NMB has made it even easier for consumers, retailers, foodservice, media and industry members to have access to the latest mango information.
Viral Elements and Social Networking
In order to keep mangos top-of-mind, the NMB has created two widgets that mango fans can add to their MySpace and Facebook pages or place on their own blogs or Web sites. First up is a game widget, the Jango Mango Match Game, where players click to flip over cards and find all the matching pairs. “Our research revealed that women 25-54 are the biggest fans of casual online games, so we wanted to give them a fun pastime game that would also invite them to check out our mango recipes after each play,” said Wendy McManus, marketing director for the NMB. The Jango Mango Match Game is a great complement to the more in-depth Jango Geography game for kids, which was rolled out last fall. For recipe aficionados, the NMB has developed a mango recipe widget, which features several delicious mango recipes and automatically displays each new recipe at a time as the NMB adds a new recipe to its database.
To help get the word out about mangos, the NMB utilizes MySpace, Facebook and even YouTube in addition to its own mango.org Web site to interact with consumers and make mangos more accessible. The NMB’s mascot, Jango Mango, has a profile on MySpace as well as a fan page on Facebook. The NMB is also the administrator for the Facebook group, “Mango.org Recipes and Events” which serves up all the latest NMB news to group members. On YouTube, The NMB has its own channel with lots of entertaining and educational videos. The “How to cut a mango” video featuring “The Mango Man” Chef Allen Susser is the most popular video on the channel, indicating that consumers are hungry for practical information about how to use mangos in their own kitchens.
Mango.org For Consumers
The NMB has made several recent improvements to its mango.org Web site, and special pages are planned for every season and event coming up in its 2009 marketing program. During the winter holidays, the NMB showed consumers how to use mangos in their holiday centerpieces and in seasonal recipes with the Holiday Entertaining page. For Valentine’s Day, Ingrid Hoffmann of Simply Delicioso shared her favorite romantic mango recipes, including a video demonstration of her “I Heart” Mango Tart as part of the Love Your Mango program. And, the March Mango Madness recipes are featured on the site to help basketball fans make their party food a slam dunk with mangos.
For kids, the NMB is bringing back the Rising Mango Star Video Contest where young chefs ages 8-14 upload their mango recipe demonstration video to YouTube for a chance to win a trip to the finalists’ cook-off for the title of “Rising Mango Star”.
Mango.org For The Trade
The NMB has also expanded digital tools available to retailers, including the Mango Marketing Toolkit, which is available online at mango.org/graphics. This great resource gives retailers access to POS materials, logos, images, recipes, nutrition info and marketing messages to help them move mangos. Also available on the site is the NMB’s Mango Crop Forecast, which is designed to anticipate mango volumes in the United States and track recent pricing history.
The NMB recently improved and expanded the foodservice section of mango.org to include selecting, ripening and storage information for mangos specific to the foodservice industry. The section also teaches how to cut a mango at foodservice for the highest yield and education on the different ripeness levels of mangos to complement different dishes and preparations.
For mango producers and shippers, the NMB has beefed up the industry section of mango.org, which now includes a tools and resources section, both in English and Spanish. This section provides links to over 50 different Web pages, including produce organizations, government agencies and research universities where mango industry members can find helpful information. “Through the tools and resources page, my goal is for mango.org to become a clearinghouse of information that can help mango industry members in every phase of their business,” said William Watson, NMB executive director.
Through these continued updates and improvements to their Web site and its online presence, the NMB is using this efficient medium for maximum impact. The internet is an ideal venue for educating consumers, retailers, foodservice and mango industry members and keeping mangos top-of-mind.
Contact:
www.mango.org
Publication date: 3/20/2009
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