New ad campaign is a hot potato

As if Matt Lucas’s songs weren’t enough, a new targeted marketing campaign could see both the health conscious and the budget-squeezed thanking the baked potato.

The campaign which is being launched in the New Year by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) will have a budget of £150,000 and will see the health conscious told about the nutritional benefits of the potato, while those who need to feed a growing family on a budget will be reminded of the convenience baked potatoes can provide ‘at a pocket-friendly price’.

“The potato is blessed by a fantastic range of selling points, and is enjoyed in 94% of British households,” said the AHDBs Nicola Dodd.

“People in these homes range from marathon runners to those juggling the school run – which shows there really is a baked spud for everyone.”

She said the campaign would use new detailed analysis which showed not only what benefits would suit different groups of people, but also how these people behaved online:

“So we can bring them the right baked potato-based inspiration, at the right time, in the right place.”

The campaign will be executed across social media channels, where AHDB Potatoes said it already had over 250,000 followers with an additional budget allocated to reaching new people on digital channels.

However with a suite of new designs set to be used for the promotion, it looks like ‘Bud the Spud’, the cheeky sunglass wearing potato, saw his final outing last summer.