MarketInk: San Diego’s Red Door Interactive Promoting California Agriculture

Red Door Interactive, a San Diego marketing agency, has launched its first advertising campaign for California Grown, a taxpayer-supported organization that builds awareness, preference and appreciation for California-grown agricultural products.

The campaign launched on July 31 for California Grown’s 2024-2025 season, a Red Door spokesperson told Times of San Diego. Red Door announced in November it had been named agency-of-record for California Grown.

The agency said its “The Sound of Good” campaign for California Grown initially includes ads with social media, digital display ads, subscription audio, Spotify playlists and newsletter e-blasts.

Also, a website is offering recipes and guides on how to shop and savor California-grown goods during peak seasons. A 30-second spot will be airing on streaming TV services. No traditional print and broadcast TV is planned, the spokesperson said.

A statement said “The Sound of Good” is all about helping locals celebrate California’s bounty by deeply understanding where their food comes from and what sets the state’s products apart from the rest. Campaign media expenditures were not disclosed.

“‘The Sound of Good’ is such a clever and fresh campaign,” said Cherie Watte, executive director at California Grown. “It captures the indescribable excellence of California Grown food, wine and flowers through expressive audible reactions. California Grown products are indeed yum and wow.”

California Grown was launched in 2001 by a collection of farmers, ranchers and agricultural marketers who cultivate more than 400 specialty crops. Family-owned farms constitute 93% of California’s agricultural landscape. California leads the U.S. in sustainable farming measures, supplying more than 50% of U.S. produce consumed in the U.S., 80% of wine made in the U.S. and ranks first in sustainable dairy production nationwide, according to Red Door.

“With so many grocery options and increasingly budget-conscious consumers, we knew we needed to cut through the noise to educate shoppers about the advantages of choosing California-grown crops, meat, seafood, dairy and more products,” said Reid Carr, CEO and executive creative director at Red Door Interactive. “Some experiences are so extraordinary, words alone can’t capture them, which is why we created ‘The Sound of Good’ to better tell this story. After all, the bounty of California is a full sensory experience.”

“‘The Sound of Good’ beautifully conveys the sustainability aspects of California agriculture,” said Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. “California’s farmers and ranchers are really leaning into climate-smart agriculture programs, and it is nice to see a marketing campaign communicate the industry’s commitment to sustainable efforts.”

Founded in 2002, Red Door Interactive has helped brands across the variety of business sectors, including lifestyle, consumer packaged goods, retail, healthcare, higher education, sporting goods and real estate. Notable clients include Stone Brewing, Titleist, Bosch, Intuit, Sun Bum, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Northern Arizona University and Shea Homes.

Olive Public Relations Wins Netty Award for Media Relations

Olive Public Relations, a San Diego-based PR agency, recently was presented with a Netty Award in a media relations category for its publicity work for the 2024 La Jolla Concours d’Elegance, a recent three-day exhibition of high-end classic automobiles held on the lawn at Ellen Browning Scripps Park in La Jolla.

The agency said its PR campaign integrated influencer collaborations, diverse media relations and strategic community partnerships. A statement said, “Leveraging influencers across automotive, luxury, lifestyle and travel niches allowed us to reach targeted audiences with authentic, engaging content pre- and post-event.”

San Diego-based McFarlane Promotions, an event planning, coordinating and production company, selected Olive Public Relations as a PR agency partner for the 2024 event. Laurel McFarlane, founder and owner of McFarlane Promotions, has been producing the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance since its inception.

“We are incredibly honored to be recognized by the Netty Awards,” said Jennifer von Stauffenberg, founder and president, Olive Public Relations. “Our team put countless hours of work and creativity into the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance campaign in collaboration with the incredible team at McFarlane Promotions. This award validates their hard work and dedication, and I couldn’t be more proud of our team.”

The most recent Concours d’Elegance, the 18th annual held in April of this year, featured 113 rare and exquisite vehicles competing for awards in 13 categories. The cars, many from the 1920s and 1930s, included such brands as Bugatti, Duesenberg, Packard, Bentley and Rolls Royce. The best of show award was presented to the William Lyon Family’s 1934 Packard Twelve.

Event proceeds benefit the La Jolla Historical Society and several local community nonprofits. Next year’s La Jolla Concours d’Elegance will be held April 25 to 27, 2025.

The Netty Awards, based in New York City, is an awards program that honors leaders and companies in the digital age. With more than 100 categories, the awards celebrate achievements in social media, industry, influencers, creators, web, advertising and public relations and apps and software. Awards are presented quarterly.

Crowe PR Ranks No. 2,939 on Inc. 5000 List

Crowe PR, a San Diego-based public relations agency, has announced it has been ranked at No. 2,939 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America.

It’s the third consecutive year for Crowe PR’s placement on the Inc. 5000. In 2023, Crowe PR said it ranked 2,939 on the list.

“We are honored to be included in the Inc. 5000 list for the third consecutive year,” said Anna Crowe, founder and CEO of Crowe PR. “This recognition is a powerful testament to our team’s relentless dedication and strategic growth, highlighting our unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence. We look forward to what the upcoming year holds for our continued growth as we gear up to celebrate our tenth year in business in 2025.”

Crowe PR said its revenue growth over the past three years has reached 171%.

“One of the greatest joys of my job is going through the Inc. 5000 list,” said Mike Hofman, editor-in-chief, Inc. “To see all of the intriguing and surprising ways that companies are transforming sectors, from health care and AI to apparel and pet food, is fascinating for me as a journalist and storyteller. Congratulations to this year’s honorees, as well, for growing their businesses fast despite the economic disruption we all faced over the past three years, from supply chain woes to inflation to changes in the workforce.”

SOCi Earns $100 Million Annually, Partners with Amerant Bank

SOCi, a San Diego-based developer of social media and cloud marketing platforms for multi-location brands, has been named the digital marketing platform of record for Amerant Bank, Florida’s largest community bank and the official bank of professional sports teams Miami Heat and Florida Panthers.

SOCi said it will assist Amerant Bank’s marketing goals of increasing brand awareness, expanding into new regions and enhancing customer satisfaction through improved review management and local search optimization.

“SOCi offered us review management, local pages, directory assistance, visual data for customer sentiment, SEO aid and customization of modules for location landing pages,” said Sam Francois, senior VP of marketing at Amerant Bank. “The platform’s ability to effectively manage our banking center and ATM locator, ensuring our listings are live and able to be updated quickly in the case of emergencies, have been invaluable.”

In addition, SOCi announced it has achieved centaur status with $100 million in annual recurring revenue. Centaur status is a term used to describe a tech company that has reached the $100 million milestone.

“Reaching this milestone is a testament to our relentless drive to innovate and solve complex problems, delivering exceptional value to our customers,” said Afif Khoury, founder and CEO of SOCi. “As SOCi marches ahead, we are driven by a higher calling, to evolve software from tools we use into platforms that can be trained to work for us. This achievement marks just the beginning of our continued pursuit of excellence and category-leading solutions for this ever-evolving marketing landscape.”

SOCi said it serves more nearly 1,000 brand customers and manages more than three million locations through its platforms. With SOCi’s platform, brands such as Ford, Ace Hardware, Jersey Mike’s and Kumon and others automate and scale their marketing efforts across all locations and digital channels.

Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.