• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 21, 2015

Luvo — one of the new breed of frozen food brands seeking to win over consumers no longer satisfied with convenience and value alone — has launched its first national campaign to build brand awareness and drive trial at retail.

“GetFresh in the Freezer Aisle," running from July through November, uses humorous innuendo to position Luvo as the solution for consumers who want "chef inspired" meals with high-quality ingredients and no added sugar and sodium, along with convenience.

“We believe that the smart food choice should be the easy one, and that consumers should never have to sacrifice convenience for taste," says Therese Hayes, SVP of marketing and communications at Luvo. “We are teaching consumers through the campaign that frozen is in fact, fresh” and that frozen fare  can be "fun and delicious," she adds.

The integrated campaign, from Seattle-based agency Tether, has a significant print component, with ads that use product shots combined with headlines that appear to be carved out of ice. Messages include: "Talk Wholesome to Me," "Make Me Hot and I'll Make You Happy" and "Pick Up a Friend With Benefits." 

Magazines were chosen to reach Luvo’s target audience of "busy professionals who lead active lifestyles and are looking for quick and easy, nutritious and delicious meal solutions to help maintain their health-related goals," Hayes tells Marketing Daily. They span multiple categories and female- and male-skewing titles, as well as ones read fairly equally by both sexes: Self, Real Simple, Oprah, Marie Claire, Cooking Light, Allrecipes, Dwell, Backpacker, Bicycling, Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Details, Ski and Outside. In total, the print schedule (primarily 3x frequency, with some 4x) will deliver more than 55 million guaranteed impressions, not including passalong, she reports.

The sassy, tongue-in-cheek creative approach also extends to digital advertising in targeted media focused on key markets and behavioral and contextual demographics. 

Programmatic ad buys were used in addition to search, remarketing display and Internet radio ad platforms across mobile, the Web and streaming audio. Three, 30-second digital radio spots are reaching target audiences in New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, L.A. Seattle, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, plus six secondary markets.

In-store marketing programs with retailers include freezer clings (such as ones featuring simulated-handwritten "Luv notes"), shelf and floor talkers, store ecommerce display advertising and digital couponing.

A custom campaign landing page provides product information, and store locations, aggregates social media content using #GetFresh, and features Luvo’s “Share the Luv” referral program (share Luvo coupons and earn chances to win Luvo entrées and gift cards for Amazon or local grocers where Luvo is sold).

The microsite, referral program and supporting content and promotions are getting exposure on both paid and earned bases on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. The brand is also running "influencer" programs including  a blogger program through Shape magazine, a Pinterest contest through Self, and product trials offered through an AllRecipes Magazine blogger team. 

Luvo's social media channels are promoting the campaign microsite and referral program, along with links to a growing number of media articles about the company (in which CEO and investor Christine Day — previously CEO of Lululemon and a longtime Starbucks exec — often stresses that the food industry is "ripe for disruption").

The social channels also include frequent posts highlighting the brand's celebrity investors/brand representatives, who include Derek Jeter, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and word championship swimmer Natalie Coughlin. 

In addition to distribution in major grocery chains around the country, Luvo, launched in 2013 by Stephen Sidwell, is sold online and in Yankee Stadium, and served on some Delta Air Lines flights.