• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, May 31, 2011

To encourage Floridians to buy more cheese, the Idaho Dairy Products Commission (IDPC) is employing a campaign based on an online sweeps, coupon and recipes – backed by online and offline marketing elements -- targeted specifically to residents of "The Sunshine State."

While many of us may equate Idaho with potatoes, it is in fact the nation's third-largest cheese-manufacturing state -- and Florida is one of its key cheese markets, explains Sharon Kitroser, director of strategic alliances for Daniels and Roberts, Inc., the Boynton Beach, Fla.-based marketing firm that created IDPC's new campaign.

The "Beyond the Cracker" campaign is anchored in a site of the same name, where legal-age Florida residents  were offered a sweepstakes (grand prize: kitchen appliance package worth $5,000) and a $1-off coupon on any domestic cheese purchased in participating grocery retailers throughout the state.

The sweeps entry cut-off was May 31, but IDPC has decided to continue availability of the downloadable coupon through August, reports Kitroser, who says that response to both the sweeps and coupon has been "brisk," and that IDPC is excited by the campaign's overall concept.

To drive traffic to the Beyond the Cracker site, the campaign used advertising on Facebook and targeted sites, plus radio ads and radio DJ testimonials (humorous personal stories involving cheese).