On this episode of The Drive in Five, learn how the Beef Checkoff monitors and manages issues and tactics to defend beef production practices. Also, get an event recap from the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 NASCAR race in Daytona, Florida.
[Embed YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/CJvyWMAtVQM]
If Kent Robertson wasn’t a NASCAR fan before, he sure is now. Robertson, a cattle dealer and beef producer from Lexington, Kentucky, volunteered his time to work the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. booth at the iconic NASCAR Cup Series season-opener race in Daytona, Florida, February 18-19. With beef producers from across the country present and the Beef Checkoff once again sponsoring the NASCAR Xfinity Series race – The Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.® 300. – beef was center stage at Daytona.
Fueled by the Beef Checkoff with the support of the Federation of State Beef Councils, the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.® 300 race sprinted to its third year at the Daytona International Speedway. From in-person events to commercial production to social media promotion and traditional media outreach, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. was on the racetrack and in the national spotlight. Watch The Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.® 300 recap video.
Claiming the Xfinity prize for the second year in a row, American professional stock car racing driver Austin Hill was greeted with a buckle and a cooler full of beef to close out a week showcasing the values of cattle ranching and beef production.
Who better to showcase the values of cattle ranching than beef producers themselves? This event is unique in having real beef producers themselves come to the race and interact with attendees, drivers and the media. For Robertson, this was his first experience with NASCAR.
His role, along with other beef producers from across the U.S., was to work beef’s booth, interact with the thousands of attendees and assist them as they tried their hands at roping, identifying the attributes of various beef cuts and asking their beef industry questions. Attendees could also sample tender brisket sliders served by beef farmers and ranchers. Additionally, campers and tailgaters who sported signs showing they were grilling beef were surprised with beef gear, from steak seasoning packets to shirts and bags.
Robertson was surprised and encouraged at the variety of people who considered themselves NASCAR fans. “When I was engaging with the people coming to our booth, they were coming from all walks of life. I met people from Portland to New York City to Switzerland to Brazil to Columbia,” he said. “I couldn’t get over how kind, patient and respectful the people were.”
Direct interaction is paramount because it allows consumers to meet the people who produce beef. “Attendees enjoyed talking about the cattle business and learning about where beef comes from,” Robertson said. “The whole experience allowed me to think back about where we are and what our business is – raising and selling cattle – and the product of that business is beef, so ultimately, our future is those people who buy beef.”
For those race fans not able to attend in person, a satellite media tour took the tailgate to them. Just two days before the race, award-winning Chef Ryan Clark, Tucson’s Iron Chef for three consecutive years and Executive Chef for the AAA 4-Diamond and Forbes 4-Star Hotel Casino Del Sol, was live from the track for interviews with TV and radio stations across the country. During those interviews, he shared beef tailgating recipes along with cooking and preparation tips and tricks.
Finally, the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. brand was also showcased nationwide through various advertising efforts before and during the race. In addition to signage on the racetrack, commercials showcased beef to a global audience on the FOXSports1 television network. Ads were also featured on various digital platforms, and billboards could be seen at Daytona International Airport as well as along the highway approaching the speedway. On average, these efforts reached consumers six million times.
“We have to keep reintroducing beef to people, and while many already love it, we have to keep reminding them it’s there,” Robertson said. “And the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.® 300 is one way to do it in a grand fashion.”
As a beef producer who has been involved with the Kentucky Beef Council for seven years, Robertson is familiar with a common question he often hears from his fellow producers: “Where do all our Checkoff dollars go?” Those producers are concerned that they don’t see many advertisements for beef as they go about their daily lives. His go-to answer is this: “I always ask them, ‘Do I have to sell you on the fact that you would enjoy a steak?’ When the answer is typically no, I respond with, ‘Then why would you expect to see every bit of Checkoff advertising?'”
The Beef Checkoff works to be as efficient and effective with producer dollars as possible. To do that successfully, it invests in hyper-targeted promotion efforts to reach consumers who aren’t fully aware of beef’s great taste and nutrition. This strategy means many producers don’t see Checkoff-funded programs and efforts directly, because they already love beef and know about its many benefits. However, the Checkoff’s Producer Communications Program ultimate mission is to inform producers about the positive impact of Checkoff-funded efforts. Overall, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board dedicates approximately 4.3 percent of the Checkoff’s budget to this program.
“I was originally one of those people who questioned where Beef Checkoff money was going,” Robertson said. “But after I got on the Kentucky Beef Council and got to see all of the cool promotions and exactly where the money is going, I could see it’s money well spent.”
To learn more about the Beef Checkoff funds and how they are distributed, visit: BeefBoard.org/Beef-Checkoff-Funds/
Today’s consumers have a vast array of choices in an extremely competitive protein market. To help make beef the consumer’s first choice, the Beef Checkoff drives beef demand through promotion, research and education.
While beef consumption and demand are both important models used to track success in the industry, they often get confused. Consumption does not reflect consumer perception of beef or beef products in the marketplace, while demand relies on sentiment – the trust and loyalty one has for a product. Regardless of price, demand shows a consumer’s willingness to purchase a product. As such, consumer demand is perhaps the most crucial driver of the beef industry and is the basis of the Beef Checkoff’s ultimate goal – driving demand for beef. Here is a simplified look at the conceptual difference between beef consumption and demand.
Both the beef and dairy industries work hand in hand to contribute to the beef supply, but there is one industry sector uniquely positioned between both – veal.
Primarily raised in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana, veal is a meat derived primarily from young Holstein bull calves. Bull calves are typically sold shortly after birth through local auction markets or purchased directly by others who will raise them for beef or veal. There are two primary sources of veal: bob veal and formula-fed veal
Bob veal consists of dairy bull calves sold and marketed shortly after birth, while formula-fed, also known as milk-fed or special-fed, are dairy bull calves that are raised for about six months and harvested at approximately 500 pounds or more. Formula-fed calves also receive grain and are ruminating animals at the time of harvest. In the marketplace today, 68 percent of veal is derived from formula-fed/grain-fed veal calves.
Today, there are approximately 400 veal farms in the U.S., and many are Amish or Mennonite families. Each farm family raises about 400 head per year. Out of all the formula-fed calves marketed each year, 95 percent come from Veal Quality Assurance (VQA)-certified farms. All VQA certifications are verified by a veterinarian.
Ultimately, veal production supports the dairy industry by adding value to its calves and co-products.
The Beef Checkoff-funded VQA program is designed to ensure dairy beef animals raised and marketed specifically for veal receive a level of care that guarantees optimal health and welfare. In addition to being beneficial for veal producers, VQA helps grow consumer trust in veal production.
Seventy-four percent of consumers agree that food companies should be more transparent about their farming practices – this jumps to nearly 80 percent when asking Millennials alone1. This statistic shows the importance of giving consumers complete clarity on the production practices of veal farming.
The VQA program makes it possible for Beef Checkoff contractors to share credible and ethical stories when marketing veal to consumers.
The Beef Checkoff-funded National Veal Program is managed by Checkoff contractor North American Meat Institute (NAMI) and subcontractor New York Beef Council (NYBC). This team produces multiple Checkoff- funded promotional campaigns and develops educational pieces, both intended to increase consumers’ discovery and trust in veal. The consumer-facing brand, Veal – Discover Delicious, capitalizes on veal’s unique taste, value and versatility. Veal is distinctive in the meat space because a three-ounce serving of cooked, trimmed lean veal has just about 170 calories, making it one of the most nutrient-dense protein foods around.
Also, veal provides 29 percent of the recommended daily intake of zinc, 36 percent of niacin and 23 percent of vitamin B-12. In short, it provides a fat and calorie profile similar to chicken but with the nutrient density of beef2.
To spread the word about veal’s extraordinary nutrition package, Veal – Discover Delicious focuses on reaching new Millennial audiences with exciting promotional efforts. Millennial consumers today continue to have little awareness or knowledge of veal as a meat choice.
All promotional efforts address this knowledge gap with messaging that explains how to find and access veal while building confidence in the protein’s taste, nutrition and safety.
Forty-five percent of consumers report shopping online for groceries more now than before the pandemic3, and online shopping has remained popular into 2022. To reach the online shopping community, Veal – Discover Delicious partners with Chicory, a digital shopper marketing platform that turns recipes into a retail environment by reaching consumers through an online recipe network. While reading through online recipes, consumers can add veal directly to their virtual shopping carts with a quick click on advertisements with retailers like Instacart and Publix. Campaigns with Chicory last year have resulted in more than nine thousand veal orders. Additionally, Fresh Direct is another online retailer that Veal – Discover Delicious works with and has resulted in more than one thousand orders of veal last year. If consumers can’t find veal in their local store, Veal – Discover Delicious hosts online retailers on its own website where consumers can buy veal and have it delivered right to their door.
Another tactic Veal – Discover Delicious utilizes to effectively reach Millennial and younger audiences and first-time veal eaters is leveraging influencers.
These influencers highlight veal’s versatility and flavor in recipes while incorporating information about how veal is raised and the faces behind veal production. Influencers then share this messaging on their blogs and social media platforms. Many influencers also coordinate or participate in veal cooking classes. This is an educational opportunity for all audiences to learn more about veal and how to best prepare it. Many of these events have themes, like the best recipes for Valentine’s Day or a Kentucky Derby party.
The National Veal Program also hosts events like veal farm tours, both in-person and virtually. Beef industry stakeholders and supporters join these tours to learn about veal farming practices, discover more about the protein and get a chance to ask industry experts their questions directly. Farm tours are only one way the National Veal Program is creating veal advocates and growing consumer trust in veal production.
Over the summer, a new video campaign was launched to introduce consumers to modern veal farming. Featured on social media and Google advertisements, this video series engaged with consumers on what veal is, what veal calves eat and how they’re raised. To watch the videos, visit www.veal.org/discover-the-farm.
Although small, veal plays a significant role in the U.S. beef and dairy industries, and the Beef Checkoff actively works to share the progressive message of veal’s protein strength, versatility, transparency and sustainability.
To learn more about the National Veal Program and access educational resources, visit: Veal.org.
I’m a cattle producer. I’m a member of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB). I’m an underwriter for an agricultural lending company. But perhaps most importantly, I’m the mother of a teenage daughter. As my husband and I have navigated the challenges of parenthood, we’ve made a joint effort to understand social media and its impact. And while social media may have gotten its start with the younger generation, its eruptive growth has spread across audiences of all ages. That growth has led to the rise of influencer marketing as a popular way to promote products and services – yes, even beef.
But what makes someone an influencer? And why should the beef industry turn to this relatively new form of marketing? Don’t all the great qualities of beef – nutrition, taste, variety – speak for themselves? These are all questions that my fellow members of the CBB’s Domestic Marketing Committee and I had before we started investigating the world of influencer marketing. And here’s what we’ve learned.
Influencers are individuals with perceived expertise or knowledge about certain topics and a decent online following. Their followers view them as trustworthy experts in their fields, and they often have significant power over their audiences’ purchasing decisions. Their recommendations can help brands expand their reach and messages. And while beef does have a lot going for it, spreading the word about beef’s positive attributes to diverse audiences takes time and effort. That’s precisely why influencer marketing has become an important tool for the Beef Checkoff as it continues to drive beef demand.
Currently, 22 influencers are part of the Beef Checkoff’s Beef Expert Network. All are passionate about sharing beef’s story and promoting beef to their unique audiences. The Beef Checkoff-funded Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. brand works to create long-term relationships with these individuals, and all must have previously expressed passion about beef. They must be credible in their fields, create interesting content – post copy, videos, photos, graphics – and share them with engaged audiences on multiple social media platforms.
Individuals in our Beef Expert Network fall into one of four categories. Food Influencers love food and center their content around recipes, cooking advice and entertaining tips and tricks. Culinary Influencers often own restaurants or culinary consulting companies. Some are even celebrity chefs, like Hugh Acheson, judge on the popular TV show Top Chef, and Josh Capon, chef and TV personality on the show Frankenfood. Ag Influencers are cattle producers who want to share accurate information about sustainable, humane production practices. Finally, Nutrition Influencers are trusted nutrition, health and fitness experts who provide health and wellness recommendations to consumers and their professional peers.
The Beef Checkoff creates educational opportunities to provide these influencers with the most up-to-date, beef-focused nutrition, research, culinary and production content. In this way, we can ensure our influencers’ content supports Beef Checkoff campaigns and promotes beef efficiently and effectively.
Where does all this content go? Influencers share it with their audiences across digital and social media platforms, but Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. also uses it in its own marketing efforts, including social media. This strategy is especially beneficial with the Ag Influencer group because it helps consumers virtually meet beef farmers and ranchers and learn about beef production right from the source.
Content from the Beef Expert Network is also multipurposed as blogs and articles published in LA Weekly and The New York Times. Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. also hosts media tours where TV and radio stations across the country can interview these influencers about all things beef.
Yes, beef’s great taste, variety and nutrition are important selling points. And, yes, social media is often a bit of a minefield, whether you’re a teenager or … someone more mature. But influencers can share all of beef’s outstanding qualities with their many social media followers. They can convince skeptical consumers to try new beef recipes, integrate beef into heart-healthy diets and discover the extreme care producers put into raising high-quality beef. In today’s world where people look to social media for guidance, influencer marketing is an indispensable tool for all kinds of products and services – including beef.
Sallie Miller, Briggsdale, CO, is a partner in Croissant Red Angus with her husband, Kevin, and parents Larry & Jean Croissant and also works full time as an underwriter for American AgCredit, a member of the Farm Credit System.
It’s time to fire up the grill and prepare for a sizzling summer full of beef! Launched over Memorial Day weekend, a brand-new Checkoff-funded Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. grilling campaign is reaching consumers in new ways and encouraging them to add some spice to their summer recipes. From a partnership with NFL superstar Tony Romo, promotions with Kroger and Sam’s Club, and new radio and TV ads, inspired consumers will be served up delicious beef grilling recipes with tips and tricks for the barbeque, along with nutritional info. See what’s cookin’ and how it will come to life across all types of media, including print, digital, social, radio and TV.
Over the next few months, consumers will gather around the grill with family, friends and good food, and the Beef Checkoff is determined to ensure beef is on the menu. Consumers are likely to grill twice a week or more, and the average American grills an impressive 9.55 times per month1. Here are all the ways the Checkoff’s summer grilling campaign will keep beef top of mind.
All these efforts will drive people to Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner’s. website for all things grilling, including Tony Romo’s Playbook, which will feature recipes, grilling tips, quotes from Romo and summer grilling videos.
For years Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. has promoted a summer grilling campaign, and it’s expected to only get better and better. Last year, paid advertising generated more than 84 million video views, 230,000 social media likes, shares and comments, 369,000 clicks to Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. articles and recipes, 315,071 BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com pageviews and nearly 50,000 audio ad listens.
This year with a larger presence on Food Network, a brand-new partnership with ESPN digital and Tony Romo headlining as beef’s spokesperson, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. expects to see performance numbers increase.
Through amusing and engaging campaigns, like these summer grilling promotions, the Beef Checkoff works to position beef as the number one protein of choice. The promotion program broadcasts beef’s unique and core attributes and works to showcase the powerhouse nutrients beef provides while reminding consumers of the unbeatable pleasure that beef brings to meals. By doing all of this, the Beef Checkoff ultimately drives demand for beef and brings attention to the men and women who raise beef and feed the world.
With the eruptive growth of social media across audiences of all ages, influencer marketing has become an increasingly popular way to promote products and services. But what makes an influencer?
Influencers are individuals with perceived expertise or knowledge about niche topics and a significant online following. Their followers view them as trustworthy experts in their fields, and they can hold significant influence over their audiences’ purchasing decisions. Their recommendations can help brands expand their reach and message – and that’s precisely why the Beef Checkoff utilizes influencer marketing to help drive beef demand.
In total, 22 individuals are part of the Beef Checkoff’s Beef Expert Network of influencers who are all passionate about sharing beef’s story and connecting with their audiences to promote beef as the protein of choice. The Beef Checkoff-funded brand Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. works with three types of influencers within the Beef Expert Network:
These are food lovers who center their content around recipes, cooking advice and entertaining tips and tricks. They share most of their food experiences on blogs and social media channels to loyal audiences interested in learning about new recipes.
These are trusted culinary professionals to whom consumers and other culinarians look for guidance. Many of these professionals own restaurants or culinary consulting companies; some are even TV personalities. Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. has worked with numerous celebrity chefs, with two being Hugh Acheson, judge on the popular TV show Top Chef, and Josh Capon, chef and TV personality on the show Frankenfood.
These influencers are members of the beef industry who run their own cattle operations and want to share their beef stories with consumers. These advocates engage with audiences and the media to ensure accurate information about the beef industry is heard.
These are trusted and established nutrition, health and fitness experts who maintain professional credentials such as Registered Dietitian (RD), Medical Doctor (MD) or Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). They are considered thought leaders in their field and provide evidence-based, diet-related health and wellness recommendations to consumers and other health professional peers.
Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. works to create long-term relationships with these individuals, and all must be a natural fit for the brand. To create authentic content, influencers must meet a certain set of criteria:
Most importantly, influencer marketing is a partnership, and the Beef Checkoff strives to build solid, productive relationships with these individuals.
The Beef Checkoff creates educational opportunities so its influencers can have the most up-to-date, beef-focused nutrition, research, culinary and production content. This information is delivered through webinars, conference session support, events, digital communications and hosted experiences.
This collaboration ensures influencer content supports Beef Checkoff campaigns and promotes beef efficiently and effectively. Once influencers create the content, they share it with their audiences across digital and social media platforms, but Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. also utilizes their content in its own marketing efforts. To further extend the reach of influencer-curated messaging, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. spotlights this content on its social media platforms to reach new audiences. This strategy is especially beneficial with the Ag Influencer group because it helps consumer audiences meet beef farmers and ranchers and learn about beef production right from the source.
The Beef Expert Network contributes to paid digital content, including blogs and articles authored by influencers and hosted in urban news publications like LA Weekly and The New York Times.
Also, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. takes advantage of the popularity of their celebrity chefs and TV personalities and hosts media tours featuring these influencers. These media tours allow TV and radio stations across the country to interview the influencers about beef recipes and nutrition. In fiscal year 2021, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. hosted four satellite media tours, each resulting in an average of 20 interviews that aired more than 500 times.
For Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner., engagement is key. The goal is to have consumers click on the recipe and beef messaging links to learn more about beef and how to cook with it. Here are successes from recent influencer campaigns:
Fourteen food and culinary influencers posted beef summer grilling recipes on their social media channels in June, July and August.
Total Reach: 372,592
Total Engagement: 60,028
Five ag influencers shared their beef stories to celebrate National Ag Day. These social media posts received paid amplification to increase their reach and carry the agriculture message to new consumer audiences.
Total Reach: 490,867
Total Engagement: 5,027
Philips starred in a long-form YouTube campaign to develop videos on beef recipes for tailgating.
Video Views: 158,956
Total Reach: 275,526
Seven nutrition influencers shared social media posts to highlight beef in the early years and encourage parents, caregivers and doctors to make every bite count.
Total Reach: 232,139
Total Engagement: 80,876
Measurement cheat sheet:
Reach: The number of unique users who were shown a post during its lifetime.
Engagement: The total number of times that users reacted to, commented on, shared or clicked on a post during its lifetime.
