Organizers of The Chatham-Kent Table are cooking up a creative marketing campaign that keeps the dinner conversation going well beyond the September event.
The C-K Table is a gala dinner that celebrates the quality and diversity of food grown and produced in the local area.
Farmers and cuisine artisans are on hand during the event to serve a five-course meal that comes directly from C-K producers.
The idea is to build a stronger connection between local food producers and Chatham-Kent residents.
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Besides making the dinner and serving the food, the farmers and artisans are available to answer questions about how the food is produced and to discuss the importance of local food production.
“It’s a farmer-to-plate experience where the farmers are talking to us and raising awareness about what they do,” said James Rasmussen, a Chatham-Kent resident who is volunteering his time for the new branding initiative. “Having the farmer at the centre of the relationships is crucial for us; it’s the nexus of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The dialogue is now being extended year-round with the launch of a new, creative online presence and brand strategy.
With the tagline, “Grown Here, Made Here, Served Here,” the C-K Table brand aims to capture the passion and dedication of the farming and local artisan community.
“At the same time, it’s mobilizing (residents) around the health and financial benefits of buying local and being more in-tune with their local heroes, which are these local producers,” said Rasmussen. “The C-K Table will be more strategic in connecting these two audiences in a conversation.”
The campaign, which will play out heavily over social media, includes a series of videos that are designed to portray the passion and dedication of local farmers.
Brent Foster, a renowned cinematographer from Wallaceburg, is partnering with the BRAND Advertising and Marketing Agency in Toronto to capture the farmers’ stories on video.
“He jumped at the opportunity and is extremely excited to take all of the lessons he has learned from travelling the world and bring them home to help inspire this community,” said Rasmussen.
The campaign was recently launched through Facebook and Twitter.
The promotional videos can be viewed here.
The C-K Table gala dinner will be held on Sept. 7 at Kerr Farms.
Tickets are available from the website.
I have felt since it started that this is to elitist. At $95 each these tickets are out of reach of the average C-K family, I appreciate that it is a sell out, but the people who are going are well aware of the benefits from buying local. CKTable needs to reach the less affluent residents who could benefit from buying fresh. Brent's films are amazing by the way