Credit: Outdoor Media Association
The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) in partnership with AUSVEG and Health and Wellbeing Queensland have launched an out-of-home campaign to encourage Australians to eat more seasonable vegetables.
The campaign is in response to the decline of vegetable consumption across the country. This has impacted the rise of chronic diseases, increased pressure on household food budgets and caused a growing strain on the vegetable growers.
Australians are reportedly only consuming one-third of the recommended daily intake of vegetables.
The campaign, Fresh veg, deliciously affordable, focusses on small, realistic changes Australians can make.
“OOH connects with Australians no matter where they’re moving throughout the day; whether it is on your morning commute, when you’re at the shops, or at a health check-up,” said Elizabeth McIntyre, CEO of the Outdoor Media Association.
“The Fresh veg, deliciously affordable campaign will be in prime position to encourage everyone to eat more vegetables.
“OOH reaches 97% of Australians weekly and is the only medium that can deliver nationwide messages at scale. We have an important role in public conversation, and we’re proud to be harnessing our channel’s power to promote better health outcomes.
“The OOH advertising industry has donated more than $41 million in advertising value over the past five years to promote our annual industry-led education campaign as part of their commitment to the OMA National Health and Wellbeing Policy.”
Dr. Robyn Littlewood, CEO of Health and Wellbeing Queensland, said Australians are cutting back on groceries due to cost of living, but leaving affordable nutrition behind.
“Vegetable consumption remains low at a time when food insecurity is increasing, and the burden of potentially preventable chronic disease continues to grow,” said Littlewood.
“Many Australians are cutting back on meals to pay bills yet veggies remain one of the most affordable ways to improve health, costing around $0.70 per serve, compared with common snack foods like chips and muesli bars, which cost $0.84 or more per serve.
“Eating more vegetables is a simple, cost-effective solution. Even small daily changes make a meaningful difference, just one extra serve a day can help reduce the risk of chronic disease.”
The campaign also acknowledges other pressures caused by the decline in vegetable consumption for vegetable growers, rising costs, climate pressures and weak demand.
The latest AUSVEG industry sentiment survey revealed that two in five growers are considering leaving the industry within the next 12 months.
“Australians are currently eating around 1.8 serves of vegetables a day – only about a third of what’s recommended,” said Michael Coote, CEO of AUSVEG.
“Fresh veg, deliciously affordable helps grow a healthier, thriving and more secure food future for Australia. By aligning demand-side behaviour change with supply-side sustainability, the campaign aims to support long-term benefits for health, households, growers and the wider food system.
“Encouraging people to add just one more serve a day can improve health outcomes and help strengthen demand for Australian-grown vegetables, supporting growers and regional communities.”
This is the third year the campaign has run.
OMA members will display Fresh veg, deliciously affordable on thousands of out-of-home advertising signs across the country from today until March 1.
Participating OMA members include: Australian Outdoor Sign Company (AOSco), Bishopp Outdoor Advertising, Cartology, Civic Outdoor, Ei Media, Gawk, Gipps Outdoor, goa Billboards, GoTransit, JCDecaux, JOLT Charge, Locus Outdoor, LUMOS, Motio, Multicultural Outdoor (MCO), nettlefold, OA Collective, oOh!media, Outdoor Systems, POA Billboards, QMS, Revolution360, S&J Media Group, Scentre Group Brandspace, S Connect - Stockland, Stream Outdoor, Tayco Outdoor, THINK Outdoor, Tonic Media Network, TorchMedia, Val Morgan Outdoor (VMO), Vicinity Centres, yStop.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.