Shuman Farms

The Sweetest Ingredient: Vidalia® Onions

Overview

Shuman Farms engaged Phase 3 to launch their first-ever restaurant partnership campaign. Calling it “The Sweetest Ingredient: Vidalia® Onions by Shuman Farms”, we aimed to partner with talented chefs and restaurateurs in Georgia (specifically Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Macon, and Savannah) to create unique dishes incorporating sweet, premium Vidalia® onions from Shuman Farms. As part of this collaboration, Shuman Farms would donate 5,000 meals to each participating chef’s local food bank.  

Services Offered

  • Media Relations
  • Events
  • Influencer Partnerships
  • Branded Merchandise

solution

To engage chefs and foodies in the region and celebrate the start of 2024 Vidalia onion season, Phase 3 ideated a variety of activations, including the creation of a larger-than-life inflatable onion to serve as a campaign mascot. We arranged partnerships with local farmers markets and engaged restaurants in each of Shuman Farms’ target markets to incorporate Vidalia onions in their seasonal menus. We then coordinated influencer visits to  each participating restaurant in Atlanta, Athens, and Savannah, capturing photo and video content for Shuman Farms' social media pages. With heartwarming b-roll of the first official onion delivery of the season at Murphys’s in Atlanta, we pitched The Sweetest Ingredient story to broadcast stations and local/national online publications. Towards the end of the campaign, we put our custom mascot to work at Shuman Farms’ "Rooted Rivalry: Onions vs. Potatoes" event at the Georgia Southern University football kickoff against Boise State University, for which we distributed pre- and post-game releases to sports and consumer media. 

Rounding out the season, we engaged Chef Matt McCarthy from Murphy’s to host a Shuman Farms Vidalia® onion cooking demonstration at this year’s Global Produce & Floral Show, providing each participating chef with a custom thank you bag that included branded knife bags and luggage tags.

results

Phase 3 secured 61 press hits with a total of 1,449,892,330 impressions, in addition to 5 influencer visits with a total viewership of 131,900 followers. Media coverage ranged from national hits in Southern Living, AOL and Yahoo! News to local press with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WAOK-FM, FOX 5 Atlanta, WJCL-TV and more. 

Media Coverage
1,449,892,330
Total Media Impressions
61
Total Press Hits
Southern Living
National Press Hit
AOL & Yahoo
National News Hits
131,900
Total Influencer Following Exposure

Available for a limited time each year, Vidalia® onions are considered the “champagne of onions” and are known for their sweet, crisp flavor and versatility. For an onion to be labeled “Vidalia®,” it must be grown in a specific region in Southeast Georgia comprising 20 counties – nowhere else. The Vidalia® onion has been Georgia’s official state vegetable since 1990 and is highly sought after by chefs and home cooks alike. This campaign serves as a great opportunity to educate Georgians on the importance of this crop and to make a difference in local communities through food bank donations. Phase 3 was able to show off multiple capabilities through creative, PR, and branded merchandise, and earned opportunities for new business for Shuman Farms’ Healthy Family Project through formed relationships with the client.  

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