From another strong field of entries, the five finalists are:

• Ashlee Kilmartin on behalf of the Mountain Blue Farms Marketing Committee for ‘Eureka – rise and shine with Australia’s new blues’, the campaign which aimed to inspire, connect and educate consumers on Eureka Blueberries.
• Matthew Crouch of Freshmax Australia for the brand awareness campaign around the Freshmax proprietary citrus ‘Sumo Citrus’.
• Graham Adams and the sales marketing team at HM Clause Pacific for their release of the Jamaica and Rosada melons in Australia, targeting growers and the wholesale sector to raise awareness and promote the new varieties.
• Hamish Montague and the Montague Fresh Queensland team, who, in conjunction with Fresh Partners, developed and launched ‘Somomo’, the brand designed to bring exotic fruit into the mainstream.
• Lucy Gregg and the Reid Fruits team for their ‘Gold Kangaroo’ marketing and sales strategy to increase cherry sales, and control the supply chain to minimise counterfeiting and maintain their premium reputation.

The Marketer of the Year Award, which recognises outstanding achievement over the past year in the marketing of fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers in Australia and/or New Zealand, attracted an impressive scope of entries from all points of the value chain.

“This year, we’ve once again received impressive entries for this Award, showcasing the excellent and innovative work being achieved by fresh produce marketers,” said Produce Plus Magazine’s editor, Gabrielle Easter. “With such a range of entries, narrowing it down to just five finalists has not been easy.”

CEO of PMA Australia-New Zealand, Michael Worthington, added, “This year, we have seen another broad array of great campaigns that collectively are doing a great job at increasing sales of fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers. The finalists are to be applauded for their creativity and well thought-out strategies.”

PMA and Produce Plus congratulate this year’s finalists and thank all of its nominees for their impressive entries.

The winner of the PMA-Produce Plus Marketer of the Year Award will be announced during the gala dinner at the PMA Fresh Connections conference and trade show on Wednesday, 18 May at the Brisbane City Hall.