Carpe Diem! Passion + Protein + Strength = BEEF

New branding effort seizes truth that beef is an essential element to healthy diets.

(CENTENNIAL, Colo.) – Permissible passion. Yes, consumers can feel good about eating beef. It’s what’s for dinner and beef fulfills that internal desire for healthy, satisfying protein. That’s why enhanced branding efforts for the beef industry have been underway through funding from the beef checkoff – as a reminder to consumers that by putting beef on dinner plates, they’re exalting that passion, adding valuable protein and fueling their body’s strength.

In order to understand what shoppers want, a survey of 4,000 consumers was conducted in an effort to: understand consumption patterns for beef and chicken, measure the importance and performance of beef and chicken, identify elements most likely to drive preference, and identify opportunities for gaining one more beef occasion per week.   

What the study found was that when forced to choose between chicken and beef, American consumers clearly prefer beef.

In essence, the beef brand aims to make beef more meaningful and connect consumers to everyday life, all-the-while letting them feel good about eating it. The new campaign embraces that passion and asks consumers to act on that emotion. The goal isn’t to change beef’s positive essence, but to identify the strongest position for beef versus other meal options.

“The new advertising/branding campaign reinforces our efforts to maintain our message with consumers that beef is delicious and full of protein. And we all know protein helps keep our bodies strong,” said John Dudley, beef producer from Comanche, Texas and former chair of the checkoff’s Advertising Committee. “By leveraging checkoff dollars, we were able to create this campaign for launch in 2008 to remind consumers that they can, indeed, reclaim the dinner they love.”

The new campaign will feature print advertising in numerous consumer magazines and radio advertising. Several State Beef Councils will extend this campaign with additional print, radio and outdoor billboard advertising in their states. In addition to new print photography that features the majesty and power of beef, the new effort will be signaled to consumers through a new voice in the radio advertising. 

So this January, watch and listen for the enhanced face of beef and discover the power of protein in the land of lean beef. It’s a destination – a place where no appetite has been lost and the local time is always dinner.

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.

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