The family orchards—located at disparate locations, and each operating according to a different harvesting schedule—needed a comprehensive marketing program to grow the business for generations to come.
A family business in need of another set of expert hands
Chiles Family of Orchards, which includes Carter Mountain Orchard, Chiles Peach Orchard, and Spring Valley Orchard, has been a family enterprise growing fruit for many generations. The Chiles family has a vision for the business, but managing the day-to-day logistics doesn't leave much time for marketing.
When we met, the Orchards were looking for a long-term partner to understand their business, give character to the brand, develop a marketing strategy, leverage technology effectively, and be readily available to collaborate on day-to-day communications. Thus, began our fruitful relationship.
Fresh, lively design invites visitors to “C'mon Out” to the orchards
Branding the orchards as distinct yet related locations began with a design update. Slight tweaks to the existing logos were followed by an overhaul of the print designs. Our design team freshened up the advertising art with contemporary fonts and lively, colorful photography. Above all, graphics focus on people and the ideal orchard experience.
Family-centric marketing program is supported by market research
Recognizing that family is at the core of the orchard experience, we keep the Chiles family front and center in the advertising creative. Cynthia Chiles is the voice of the orchards on
Marketing campaigns cannot be created in a vacuum. Research into the demographic, psychographic, and website behavior of visitors and prospective visitors informs the integrated marketing program of radio, print, social media, and digital advertising. We conducted market segmentation research to identify and target specific market segments and understand their needs and interests. By creating "personas" of target customers, we can build backstories about their day-to-day lives and imagine what experiences and messages would appeal to them.
We are growing every year.
Cynthia Chiles
Every year we brainstorm, strategize, and plan so that the orchards begin each new season with a strategic, creative, and integrated advertising campaign.
Content marketing brings the experience to life
Visitors experience the orchards in real time and with concrete products—the farm markets are full of gifts and goodies. Above all, promoting the orchards is really about creating the ambiance, appealing to nostalgia, and coloring in the experience. Content marketing through website articles and social media posts stimulates the desire for the real experience and builds trust by offering something of value to the reader.
For the 2018 season, we launched an Orchard Outlook series to tee up each picking season. "Farmer Henry" walks us through how the crop is
Website unifies the brands and drives orchard visits
To increase brand awareness while maintaining each orchard’s unique identity, we combined the three sister orchards into a single site, chilesfamilyorchards.com.
For a business blessed with gorgeous views and tasty fruits, it was important that the site be visually appealing. The design incorporates photography of the orchards’ products, fresh fruit, and country treats with imagery that communicates the family fun experience. The textures and fonts reinforce the wholesome, country atmosphere, while the bright colors and sharp iconography add an energetic, modern feel.
Thank you, Chiles, for having a usable and informative website.
Staunton Newsleader
With new fruits in season from month to month, the site has to enable fast and painless content updates. Built on a WordPress content management system, the site allows the Chiles team to easily update content, share news, and publicize events. Bringing the orchards together under one umbrella also helped to eliminate content redundancies across the sites.
Our web team is particularly proud of the site’s custom fruit availability charts and dynamic hours widget that signals whether an orchard is open or closed.
These and other custom-programmed features result in a mobile-responsive website that is highly functional and friendly for both site visitors and content managers.
Objectives
Unify the marketing of three distinct orchards under one "uber" brand and raise agri-tourism profile to local community and tourists.
Activities
Advertising strategy and program management, website (chilesfamilyorchards.com), graphic design, social media, consumer research, digital advertising, collateral development, content creation
Outcomes
- Attracted tourists and locals by repositioning the orchards as destinations
- Built customer loyalty with strategic, targeted content marketing
- Analyzed advertisement results across multiple platforms and incorporated findings into deliverables for more effective ads and messaging