Watermelon Board Pivots Nutrition Education Strategy to Digital Model

The National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB) is realigning resources to adapt to a new climate while focusing on summer sales. Unlike years past when summer months meant in-person events, the socially-distanced approach adjusts marketing and promotional efforts to continue to position watermelon as the go-to choice for kids and families. NWPB has been partnered with the world’s only rock & roll nutrition show Jump with Jill for more than eight years, with a national live tour partnership as the leading line item. With stay-at-home orders in place, Jump with Jill and NWPB are teaming up to bring consumers a digital version of the program called the Jump with Jill Digital Tour with unplugged songs, dances, workouts, activities and tutorials.

“Jump with Jill is our longtime partner for kids content and in-school outreach and their primary delivery mechanism was through a powerful live musical show,” says Stephanie Barlow, Senior Director of Communications. “They have realigned so that songs about eating fruit like Nature’s Candy and The Sweet Beat can still reach kids even when they are distance learning.”

Just as the watermelon domestic growing season hits its peak, these free resources and tools serve an important need useful while families are at home. Parents are craving content that can hold their kids’ attention while they work from home and teachers need summer study materials they can use to prevent the summer slide, or the slide backwards that many children make in reading and math skills over the summer.

“From our homes to families everywhere, we are thrilled to be able to perform and teach,” says Jump with Jill creator, Jill Jayne, who brings her credentials as a Registered Dietitian and singer into everything she touches. “When they announced school closures, we were forced to accept that a screen would be a mandatory feature in our relationship with our audience. So we wanted to use it to communicate to kids in a powerful way letting them know that – we are still here, we are still singing and we still love you.”

For more information and to explore the resources available from NWPB and Jump with Jill, check out Facebook, YouTube, visit Watermelon.org or JumpwithJill.com.