Samenvatting

This research has been done on behalf of Eosta, a leading international distributor of fresh organic fruits and vegetables. Eosta is concerned with the situation of the earth's soils and wants to start an awareness campaign about soil. The central question of the research is: how can Eosta communicate the importance of healthy soils and the positive effect of organic agriculture on soil to the consumer? To answer this question, different steps are taken. Firstly, the importance of soil is discussed. Secondly the effect of organic agriculture on soils is researched and thirdly, the target market for Eosta and the target group for the campaign are analyzed. Finally a recommendation is given to Eosta, about how to communicate their message to the target group.
The degradation of soils is a growing world problem. Every minute 23ha of fertile soil is turning into desert (Gnacadja, 2012 "Press conference " section, para 2). Several international organizations, like the European Union and the United Nations, recognize this problem and call for action. Soil degradation can be a threat to food security and climate change. People in urban areas are often not aware of this problem. However, their way of consuming has a large influence on the situation. Agriculture is the main cause of soil degradation, but also the building of cities and roads also has a negative effect on soil. Research reveals that organic agriculture can be a solution for the soil problem. Eosta wants to show people that if they alter their buying pattern and buy more organic products they can help stop soil degradation.
This research focuses on the Dutch and German market. Germany is the most important market for Eosta, since almost half of the turnover is generated in Germany. The market for organic products is growing in both Germany and the Netherlands (Schaak, 2012, pp. 2-9) (Bakker, 2011, pp. 19-24). This is a positive development for Eosta, but it also means that competition is growing. Eosta is the pioneer in the market and should try to stay ahead of its competitors. Due to the relatively high overhead costs, price competition is hard for Eosta. Therefore Eosta wants to differentiate their business from all others through their ingenuity.
This paper advises Eosta to target the campaign at "light users" of organic products. This group is expected to have the most potential, when it comes to buying more organic products. The reason for this is that they are already interested in sustainability, but only a small percentage of the products
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they buy are organic. This group exists mostly of females. Characteristics of this group are: they are living in urban areas, they are highly educated and they are critical consumers. The main reason for this group to buy organic products is their own health concern.
When communicating to this target group a few things should be kept in mind. Firstly, the information that is going to be used should be reliable and based on facts. The critical consumer is presumed not to tolerate false information. To keep a reliable image, this paper advises to cooperate with nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and other companies in the organic sector. Secondly, health is important to the target group. The campaign should therefore explain the link between healthy food and healthy soil. Furthermore, this group lives mostly in urban areas. Presumably soil is not a topic they have to deal with on a daily basis.
This paper discusses several ideas to communicate Eosta's message about soil. To make the target group aware of the importance of soil, a visual presentation about soil degradation, like a video, can be created. More information on this topic can be spread by making use of websites like Facebook, Twitter and press releases.
Only focusing on soil degradation makes the campaign's message negative. Therefore, the campaign should communicate problems of soil degradation as well as the solutions. There are two solutions Eosta could communicate. The first solution is organic agriculture and the second solution is urban gardening. The promotion of organic agriculture as solution for soil degradation can increase the total sales volume of organic products. This would be a positive development for Eosta. Urban gardening can be a positive way to make the target group familiar with soil. They can increase the biodiversity in their urban environment and therewith help the soils in their city to become healthier. Moreover, when people start gardening they experience the importance of healthy soils themselves.