Checkoff Reaches Consumers Through Largest Social Platform
Today, TikTok is a social media giant and a highly relevant social media platform, particularly for Gen Zs and millennials. With more downloads than even Facebook and Instagram, TikTok has more than 800 million monthly users worldwide. Because TikTok features so many key target audiences active in one space, the Beef Checkoff has joined in on the fun, promoting prepared beef and veal in unique and trendy ways.
The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) executes Checkoff-funded projects to promote prepared beef products. One goal is to get consumers to think about prepared products, like beef hot dogs, roast beef, corned beef and beef jerky in new and different ways – and TikTok is a platform where consumers embrace creativity. The food side of TikTok is one of the most popular and trending areas on the app. Here, users can find at-home, professional and celebrity chefs. To capitalize on food’s popularity on TikTok, NAMI ran three campaigns with the Food Renegades, the largest alliance of social media chefs in the world with 40 million followers combined.
Checkoff-funded TikTok Campaigns
- #WienerWednesday: Beginning in July of 2020, #WienerWednesday was all about the beef hot dog. Forty unique recipes and fun facts were shared about hot dogs by different creators. The videos were watched more than 27 million times, generated nearly 3.5 million likes and had 15.8 million hashtag views, making it the most viral beef campaign ever organized on TikTok. Watch the #WienerWednesday recap video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfmd8coCfU0&t=1s
- #BeBeefPrepared: This campaign featured eleven influencers and their recipes on how to “Be Beef-Prepared” for the holidays and for the new year. The campaign reached more than two million TikTok users and engaged 362,600 consumers.
- Deli Dinner Showdown Tournament: To celebrate National Deli Meat Month in March, The Deli Dinner Showdown was a tournament-structured event with leading TikTok creators sharing their enthusiasm for deli meats. This tournament encouraged creators to think outside of the box with their recipes for a chance to win $100. These creators showed their followers that you can use deli meats for more than just lunch and sandwich options. This campaign concluded in May, and results are still being collected.
The Checkoff-funded brand Veal – Discover Delicious has also been using TikTok to showcase veal’s versatility. Veal – Discover Delicious partnered with popular TikTok food creators to introduce veal to consumers and open their eyes to new recipe concepts.
These TikTok tournaments and highly engaging campaigns have brought out the originality in food creators. Prepared beef products were shown in shakshuka, Reuben casserole and even beef hot dog octopuses. Also, veal was highlighted in different burger and taco recipes.
The Beef Checkoff is excited to be working on new TikTok campaigns for the future and is consistently monitoring new technologies and platforms to continue reaching and engaging new audiences to drive demand for beef.
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 may 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.
