THE olive industry is going online to make Australian extra virgin olive oil an everyday item in household cupboards.
The Australian Olive Association (AOA) launched its new consumer awareness promotion this month with the simple tagline of "Everyday".
According to material sent out to olive growers, the campaign aims to change consumer behaviour and shift consumption towards Australian extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
The 100 per cent digital project is centred around a website (www.australianextravirgin.com.au) but will rely heavily on its social media strategy that includes a Facebook page and other outlets.
The AOA has engaged Adelaide-based marketing organisation, Fuller, to drive the momentum which involves regular updates on the website with stories, articles, insights, videos and infographics.
The company has extensive experience in promoting wine brands.
Some of the key messages to be promoted are the health benefits of EVOO, freshness, taste, versatility, certification and affordability.
Fuller has called on growers to provide authentic stories to help populate the website, as well as grower recipes.
Fuller director, Will Fuller, gave details of the campaign at the National Olive Industry Conference in Geelong in October.
"For the industry as a whole, what we need from you is ideas and angles and stories. We want to tell stories about harvest and about great regions," he said.
"We haven't used photography enough. It's a beautiful industry. You all live in beautiful places that have the most amazing sunsets and sunrises.
"Your product is so textural as well so we wanted to bring that through with great photography."
The website's coordinators plan to produce about four to six pieces of content per month.
References to the industry's Code of Practice have also been woven throughout the site to help with the certification message.
Mr Fuller said consumer researched showed many people didn't know the difference between EVOO and standard cooking oils, which presented a tremendous opportunity.
"We need to fill some education and marketing gaps," he said.
"There's a huge opportunity there to communicate all these other uses for extra virgin olive oil."
One point requiring additional effort appears to be the perceived expense of EVOO with the budget conscious "canola crowd" being aware of the price difference and the rise in prominence of other oils.
Mr Fuller said it was about positioning the product as an everyday affordable luxury.
"Coconut is an area that we have to battle and fight hard against," Mr Fuller said.
"We've got to do some work around this idea that it (EVOO) is expensive.
"The strategy needs to increase that share of mouth. There is coconut oil, rice bran oil- there are a lot of players in the market now."
He said a prime target group would be the 25-35 year olds, particularly those who have grown up using olive oil but perhaps not Australian EVOO.
"They believe the tin of something from somewhere is equal to what is here, made locally," Mr Fuller said.
The call to arms to help further EVOO awareness was about building momentum, according to Mr Fuller.
"We want to build a database of evangelists, a tribe of people who love Australian extra virgin olive oil," he said.
"We can target people now like we never could with billboards."