Market area considered desirable 



Continuing the discussion of market 

 areas, respondents were asked, " Do you 

 feel that a joint sales agency should be 

 on a regional, national or other basis? " 



While only about one-half reported 

 they were now selling in nationwide 

 markets, two-thirds thought a central 

 marketing agency should operate on a 

 nationwide basis as indicated by the 

 following tabulation: 



Basis preferred 



National 



Regional 



Other 



No answer 



Number 



Pe 



rcentape 



36 





68 



13 





25 



1 





3 



3 





4 



is the question of what label or brand to 

 use. Some shippers have spent years 

 building market acceptance for an asso- 

 ciation label and are reluctant to switch 

 to another used jointly by several con- 

 cerns. Others have no particular interest 

 in their own label or have never had their 

 own. 



In an attempt to measure this factor, 

 interested cooperative fruit and vegetable 

 processors were asked: " What is your 

 policy with respect to labels? " 



The 1953-54 practices of firms 

 answering this question are tabulated 

 below. Since some firms used all three 

 processes -- canning, freezing, and 

 drying-packaging -- figures cannot be 

 added. 



Total 



53 



100 



Processor support expected 



Relatively few processors would be 

 willing to turn over their entire pack to 

 a joint sales agency. A number of rea- 

 sons were given for this. Many processors 

 had long-term commitments to customers, 

 or had built up a high degree of acceptance 

 for their products in certain markets. 

 While desiring the services of a central 

 sales agency, they felt at the same time 

 a certain obligation to continue to serve 

 old and good customers. Some proc- 

 essors said they would want to turn over 

 all their business to a central sales 

 agency eventually, but did not want to 

 make a complete break with the past imtil 

 the agency had proved successful. The 

 following tabulation lists answers to the 

 question: "How much of your pack would 



you be willing 



to 



sell through 



a central 



sales agency?" 











Number 





Portion of pack 





of firms 



Percentage 



All 



13 



25 



Part 





34 



64 



No answer 





6 



11 



Total 



53 



100 



Joint label vs. firm label 



An important consideration in any 

 discussion of a joint marketing program 



Type of label 







Number of 



sold under 



Packing process 



firms 



Association label 



Canning 





1 



only 



Freezing 





9 





Drying or 



packaging 



3 



Buyer label only 



Canning 





2 





Freezing 





2 





Drying or 



packaging 



- 



Combination 



Canning 





33 





Freezing 





11 





Drying or 



packaging 



3 



Since any joint marketing program 

 would seek to establish market recognition 

 and acceptance for its products, there 

 should be some ready means of identifica- 

 tion. This could be a common label, used 

 for all products and all producing areas. 

 However, some firms have already 

 established their own labels in the mar- 

 kets they serve. A joint sales agency 

 taking over sale of the product could 

 take advantage of such established mar- 

 ket acceptance by continuing to use the 

 established label. Or perhaps a small 

 medallion or seal could be placed in one 

 corner of the label, permitting its con- 

 tinued use but at the same time calling 

 attention to the new organization market- 

 ing the product. 



On the other hand, little would be 

 gained by continuing to use a firm label 

 which has not gained wide market 

 acceptance. The issue in this case is 

 much more easily resolved. 



8 



