Fresh off the Dot

Abstract

Fresh off the Dot is a communication campaign that aims to encourage parents with young children to support local farmers and purchase Singapore-grown produce. With about 1% of land available for food production and over 90% of food imported, food security remains a challenge for Singapore. Local produce acts as a crucial alternative food source in times of supply and price disruptions from overseas. While production capabilities are being boosted by both the government and local farms, it is important that consumer demand increases in tandem. However, a mixed-method formative research found that consumers are not actively sourcing for it. In a bid to address this gap, Fresh off the Dot sought to reach consumers at touchpoints they frequent through a hybrid (digital & physical) campaign consisting of digital and PR efforts, social media and a pop-up event. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour, these efforts focused on improving Perceived Behavioural Control and maintaining positive Attitudes of parents, emphasising the ease and benefits of incorporating local produce into their lives. The campaign met all impact objectives and saw a statistically significant increase in behaviour engagement by 14.6%. Fresh off the Dot also garnered significant traction, with $1,065,768 in PR value. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the perceptions, key barriers and purchase behaviours of local produce. These insights were used to develop the campaign strategy and execution. Finally, the effectiveness of the hybrid campaign is evaluated and the sustainability of current efforts is discussed.