2002 News Archive
Beef Advertising Program Starts Next Month
DENVER (December 17, 2002) - Checkoff-funded research that shows nearly 75 percent of U.S. households have a real passion for beef is at the core of a new $13.4 million checkoff-funded advertising program beginning in January. The research shows that these households have the capacity, based on current consumption patterns, to eat more and pay more for beef.
Enjoyment is the focus of the multi-faceted program, which includes television and print advertising. The target audience for the campaign, being coordinated for the Cattlemen's Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), will be adult men and women ages 25-54.
The goal of the campaign is to fuel consumer passion for beef and encourage them to add at least one more beef meal to their diets every week, according to Linda Joy Stovall, a Texas beef producer and chairman of the Joint Advertising Committee.
The direction of the new advertising diverges from previous beef industry advertising, which targeted women ages 25 to 54 with children. Data from the most recent U.S. Census, however, indicates that less than one third of all U.S. households are family households with children.
"Our committee determined that we were missing a significant number of households with our previous strategy," says Stovall. "By targeting only women with children, the industry was missing out on touching the millions of consumers in single-person or married couple households." In addition, Stovall said research conducted with consumers about their consumption of beef and other proteins showed that both men and women play a role in meal decisions and both love the taste of beef.
The research also shows that 16 percent of consumers are already heavy users of beef, consuming beef at nearly all of their lunch and dinner meals. This group will be carefully protected by the industry to assure that their loyalty to beef remains high.
Despite the change in direction, the advertising will continue to capitalize on well-recognized elements of the industry's checkoff-funded advertising campaigns: Actor Sam Elliott's voice, the "Beef. It's What's For DinnerÒ" theme and the "Rodeo" music by Aaron Copland. Television commercials will feature both restaurant and home settings.
Over the course of the 2003 campaign, more than 92 percent of adults in the target audience will be reached by the advertising an average of 13 times. On average, the advertising will reach consumers for less than a penny a person.
The campaign kicks off in January with a 4-week flight of ads, followed by a 3-4 week flight in March and another in May. Network television will carry the ads on programs such as "Judging Amy," "Touched by an Angel," "The Guardian" and "West Wing." Cable stations such as the Food Channel and Lifetime also will feature the advertising, as will syndicated programs like "Home Improvement" and "Everybody Loves Raymond."
Print advertising will complement the television ads. While the television advertising will create the anticipation for enjoying beef, print advertising will act to motivate consumers to eat beef more often.
Print ads will appear in magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, People, TV Guide, Bon Appetit, Parenting and others. Readers of the magazine ads also will be referred to a new Web site especially for consumers, www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com, for special recipes and information about beef.
In mid to late summer a print nutrition element will be added to this campaign. The component is intended to reduce the barriers some consumers have to beef consumption due to nutrition issues.
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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 oversees the national checkoff program, subject to USDA oversight. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.