The Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. is introducing a multichannel campaign to promote nutrition with an application for Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's BlackBerry.

The "Buy A Bunch. Lose A Bunch" campaign focuses on bananas. The applications that will be integrated into the campaign are set to launch soon.

?We want to reach consumers where they live, which today means you must include social and mobile media, especially for younger, active individuals,? said Dionysios Christou, vice president of Del Monte Fresh Produce Co., Coral Gables, FL.

?Del Monte Fresh Produce Company is excited to engage its customers directly and build brand awareness and loyalty in the fresh produce category,? he said. ?The phone apps will integrate traditional, in-store, online and mobile marketing efforts.?

Nutritional app
The application features recipes and product information, diet information and tools, games for adults and kids, as well as downloadable coupons for bananas and other fresh fruits and vegetables.

Here is a screen grab of the upcoming iPhone application:

The company is also offering five trips for two to the Banana Beach Resort in Belize - one trip will be given away along with $100 gift cards.

The sweepstakes will also be run via supermarket retailers and http://www.fruits.com.

?We are targeting women, young mothers in particular, who are looking to lose or maintain weight and live healthier lives for them and their family by eating more fresh fruits and vegetables,? Mr. Christou said.

?Some of the elements to the iPhone and BlackBerry app that we think will appeal to this group are coupons, recipes and a fun photo game where you can add banana graphics to a picture to make your own banana face,? he said.

Mobile contest
Additionally, there will be four additional trips given away via Del Monte?s Facebook page.

Users are encouraged to compete in a series of four challenges that range from sharing a recipe and photo to taking a survey.

The application, which is free, will link to coupons on the company?s Web site.

Users will be able to generate shopping lists from the recipes.

?While we have some traditional media outreach and in-store promotion, we are primarily focused in the digital space and on Facebook and Twitter in particular,? Mr. Christou said. ?For instance, we are kicking off the diet challenge, which launched on Monday, June 21, with a Twitter Party.

?We are partnering with MomCentral, an online community providing resources and solutions for busy moms, to expand our community and begin engaging with social media influential?s in our target demographic,? he said.

?In all these spaces we are promoting our soon-to-launch phone apps ? this includes Facebook, our Web site and in print and digital ads.?