Interview: The new app that will make choosing your meals easier
Media outlet: CBC Central Morning Radio, March 7, 2014
Expert guest: Vanessa Pike Young, Regional Nutritionist at Central Health, @VanessaPikeRD
Interview Rewind: We review a media interview and highlight strengths and suggestions for improvement. Let’s listen to Registered Dietitian Vanessa Pike Young as she discusses the Cookspiration app. http://www.cbc.ca/centralmorning/episodes/2014/03/07/the-new-app-that-will-make-choosing-your-meals-easier/
Key messages:
Vanessa did a fantastic job by starting the interview with one of the most important key messages: “Cookspiration is an app developed by Dietitians of Canada for Nutrition Month and beyond, and available for downloading from cookspiration.com. The app suggests recipes depending on the time of day, what you feel like making and whether you’re on a budget.”
She professionally weaved in other key messages during the interview:
- The target audience for the app is mostly adults and those who do food preparation, including kids too. The app is user friendly and available for iPhone, iPad, web page. There is also a twitter and Facebook page to provide comments about the recipes.
- The Cookspiration app makes recipe selection less daunting. All the recipes on the app have been developed by dietitians and tested, so users can trust that the recipes will taste good.
- A Cookspiration contest helps encourage consumers in Newfoundland and Labrador to try a recipe from Cookspiration and submit the photo for a chance to win a $50 grocery/farmers’ market gift certificate.
- Cookspiration is about getting people back into the kitchen, having fun with food, experimenting and involving the kids if you can.
Key message delivery:
Vanessa had a professional and positive tone when describing the Cookspiration app. She answered all of the questions in a friendly and calm manner. In a very natural flow, Vanessa mentioned Dietitians of Canada and dietitians (“dietitians love their food!”) which helps increase the profile of our profession. She spoke to the versatility of the app, noting that recipes can be selected based on many different factors. She offered a nice personal touch to the interview by sharing her favourite recipe – Curry Cauliflower. She ended the interview on a positive and affirming note, “Mmm, sounds good,” when the host mentioned that she would use the app to pick her dinner recipe. Way to go, Vanessa!
Suggestions:
A few too many times, Vanessa used the term “pretty” and “really” throughout the conversation – e.g. “pretty much, it suggests a recipe for you to make”, “pretty user friendly”, “pretty familiar ingredients”, and “pretty reliable source”, “really nice pictures”. Some suggested alternative wording could be: “The Cookspiration app is a fun and easy app that offers 6-8 recipe suggestions….”, “it’s very user friendly”, “each recipe uses common ingredients…”, “very reliable and credible source”, and “wonderful mouthwatering photos for each recipe…”
It seemed that Vanessa was more familiar with the app though not so familiar with the recipes in the app. She did a good job skirting over this by mentioning her favourite recipe. If Vanessa had time, she could have reviewed some of the recipes prior to the interview. Or, she could have simply mentioned, “This is a brand new app and I haven’t had a chance to try many recipes, but I really like the Shrimp Cauliflower Curry recipe.”
Finally, as with all radio interviews, it can be a challenge to “paint” a visual for the listeners. When Vanessa shared her favourite recipe (Shrimp Cauliflower Curry), she could have described the recipe a bit more – e.g. A quick and colourful recipe that uses shrimp, canned tomatoes, green peas and yogurt. It tastes delicious on brown basmati rice or whole wheat couscous. Also, when mentioning the versatility of the app, Vanessa could have highlighted a few recipes to help create a mouthwatering visual and entice the listeners to try to app – e.g. “Let’s say it’s Thursday afternoon and you’re looking for a light lunch. You simply click on these options in the app or on the Cookspiration.com website, and you’ll get delicious recipe ideas such as Avocado, Beet and Chicken Tostadas, or Greek Rice and Feta Stuffed Peppers.
Overall, a great radio interview!
