Press Releases

Kentucky Proud awareness spreading to Commonwealth's rural areas, survey says

 

For Immediate Release
Monday, November 17, 2014
For more information contact:
Ted Sloan
(502) 564-1138

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Proud was a hit in Kentucky's two largest cities in its early days but was largely unknown anywhere else in the state. That's no longer the case, a recent University of Kentucky survey shows.

In a survey of Kentucky consumers conducted in October, UK found that recognition of the Kentucky Proud brand outside the Lexington and Louisville markets grew by 46 percent in the past five years and now stands at 54 percent. Brand recognition in Lexington and Louisville also increased, and brand recognition statewide grew 12 percent to 69 percent. The survey was conducted to measure the brand's progress since a similar study in 2009.

"More than ever, Kentucky consumers know that Kentucky Proud stands for farm products grown, raised, and/or processed in Kentucky by Kentuckians," Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said. "The Kentucky Department of Agriculture did an effective job of using limited resources to establish Kentucky Proud in Lexington and Louisville in the program's early years. I am gratified to see that, in the last few years, we've been able to raise awareness about Kentucky Proud in the state's rural areas. Increased brand recognition translates into increased sales, and that's good for Kentucky small family farmers and small businesses."

The study found that brand recognition in the Louisville market was 80 percent, a 6 percent increase over 2009, and brand recognition in the Lexington market was 75 percent, up 7 percent.

Among other key findings in the survey:

• 70 percent of respondents said they had seen the Kentucky Proud logo on food products, up 30 percent from 2009.
• 56 percent of respondents outside the Louisville and Lexington markets said they had seen or heard Kentucky Proud advertising or messaging, up 19 percent.
• 52 percent of respondents said they purchased a food product specifically because it was "produced or processed" in Kentucky, up 15 percent. Eighty-three percent of respondents said they purchased a Kentucky Proud item after seeing the logo on a product.
• In 2009, 29 percent of respondents said they associated Kentucky Proud with then-Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer and/or basketball players, who were featured prominently in early promotional materials for the program. In 2014, less than 4 percent of respondents made that association. Respondents to the recent survey mostly associated Kentucky Proud with Kentucky-produced goods, Kentucky farmers, and fresh produce.

 

"This is great news for Kentucky farmers and businesses, but the program still has room to grow," Commissioner Comer said. "We'll keep working to spread the Kentucky Proud brand into all reaches of the Commonwealth."

Kentucky Proud is the official state farm marketing program. It is funded by grants from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund.

 

To find out more about Kentucky Proud, visit the new Kentucky Proud website at www.kyproud.com.