While IDFA may be best known for throwing summertime ice cream parties in Washington, this July the association spread its celebration of National Ice Cream Month through national and local media outlets, reaching many more ice cream lovers all across America.
IDFA’s ice cream survey findings garnered more than 50 placements on local television stations around the country, and IDFA was mentioned or featured in more than 20 outlets, including the Washington Post, Food and Wine, Forbes and MIC, an online news platform.
IDFA conducted the survey among its members who make and market ice cream as well as members of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association, which includes operators of ice cream parlors in the United States. The results revealed the country’s top 10 favorite flavors, the most successful ice cream markets across the nation and Americans’ favorite nuts, fruits and confections in ice cream.
IDFA thanks the members who responded to the survey for helping make the media outreach activities a resounding success.
Read “Vanilla Reigns Supreme; Chocolate Flavors Dominate in Top Five Ice Cream Favorites Among Americans.”
Ice Cream Goes Social
Through its @dairyidfa accounts on social media, IDFA expanded its National Ice Cream Month celebration online, uniting ice cream lovers around the world and encouraging them to share exciting visuals of their favorite dessert. IDFA’s July content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which included ice cream survey facts, videos and photo contest entries, was seen more than 128,700 times.
Instagram Ice Cream Photo Contest
IDFA celebrated its fifth annual and largest-ever Instagram Ice Cream Photo contest, where more than 30 photo contest entrants competed to win free ice cream.
IDFA followers on Instagram (@dairyidfa) were invited to share photos showing how they celebrate National Ice Cream Month. IDFA named three winners this year: @jbswanson911, @brightlyte88 and @swhitaker99 submitted colorful winning photos of melty, sprinkle-covered and beach-worthy ice cream novelties.
Sunday Sundaes
IDFA began its festivities this month with the return of “Sunday Sundaes,” a series of recipe videos created for sharing on social media. In total, the three recipe videos were watched more than 2,200 times, a record-breaking number.
The series featured a new ice cream sundae recipe on Sundays in July, giving viewers a new way to celebrate National Ice Cream Month every week. From sandwiches made of sprinkles, layers of crunchy key lime pie and coffee-laden sundae treats, each video tackles decadent and creative ice cream recipes that can be enjoyed in less than a minute.
IDFA gained additional visibility when USDA shared the Affogato Sundae recipe video on Twitter for National Ice Cream Day; this video reached nearly 15,000 Twitter users and garnered more than 1,000 views from a single post.
View the recipe videos in IDFA’s “Sunday Sundae” YouTube playlist.
To see all IDFA social media content from National Ice Cream Month, search @dairyidfa on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Ice Cream Parties
IDFA expanded its longstanding tradition of celebrating with ice cream parties this year by adding another, this time on the National Mall. In June, IDFA served nearly 70 flavors of ice cream and thousands of root beer floats at its 35th Capitol Hill Ice Cream Party and doubled the fun the day after National Ice Cream Day with the inaugural and soon-to-be-annual ice cream party at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue joined ice cream lovers in the USDA Farmers Market on the mall to welcome the crowd, enjoy a bowl of ice cream and help to serve scoops for an extended celebration.
View and photos on Twitter and Facebook at @dairyidfa, as well as IDFA’s video, which USDA streamed live on Facebook.
For more information, contact Audra Kruse, IDFA manager of communications, at akruse@idfa.org.