Commission’s Email Marketing Campaigns Deliver Custom Content to Loyal Subscribers

To maximize communication with more than 173,000 loyal email subscribers, the California Avocado Commission delivers custom content focused on sustainability, locally grown messaging and California avocado recipes that pique the interest of this highly valuable audience. Throughout the year, subscribers receive consistent bi-monthly communications that drive engagement, consideration and awareness of the California avocado season. To round out the year, subscribers receive an email that incorporates CaliforniaAvocado.com’s most clicked California avocado recipes of the fiscal season.

To ensure content is delivered correctly to inboxes and meets specific email quality standards, the Commission conducted a thorough email audit to identify opportunities and implement changes such as bug fixes, list cleanup, improved forms and template updates. In addition, the subscriber audience was segmented by engagement rates with the most engaged designated by five stars and the least with one star. To drive the email open and click rates, the Commission tested subject lines — with and without emojis — and compared how five-star subscribers and lower ranked segments responded to and engaged with the content. Findings suggested that incorporating emojis not only captures a subscriber’s attention initially, but also drives sustained engagement. Over time, recipients exposed to emoji subject lines tended to advance into higher-ranking engagement segments indicating that this subtle personalization strategy helped nurture deeper subscriber interaction and loyalty.

The Commission also created a highly detailed editorial calendar to map content and themes for each of the 12 issues throughout the season. The content and custom graphics represented a strategic mix of engaging topics that focused on key brand differentiators (locally grown, sustainably farmed), inspirational California avocado recipes, preparation tips, the online store locator and reminders concerning when and where the fruit is available.

Ultimately, these direct communications delivered to a loyal California avocado audience are designed to help encourage demand for and loyalty to the brand. The overall open rate for the email marketing program was 22.38% (above the industry benchmark of 20%). The communications drove 1,300 visits to the online store locator page available at CaliforniaAvocado.com with an impressive 68% engagement rate (the overall website engagement rate is 34%). The unsubscribe rate, which CAC aims to keep below 1%, was only 0.23%.