Good Beef News Just Keeps Coming

Public relations with consumer publications nationwide continue to position beef as ‘What’s For Dinner.’   These efforts have been funded by America’s beef producers through the national beef checkoff.

To date, more than 6,700 positive placements for beef have been made through the beef checkoff in publications with a combined circulation of 1.34 billion.  By comparison, through July 1, 2002, a total of 5,628 placements had been made through the program.

This summer a release through the Associated Press called “Cheeseburgers with Grilled Onions” received 123 placements, reaching a combined circulation of 4.1 million.  The release ran with an offer for a free Steak on the Grill Tonight and Burger on the Grill Tonight recipe cards, both produced through the Beef Checkoff Program.

In addition, major magazines have featured beef chuck and round cuts and ground beef, thanks to the checkoff.  Nearly 450 articles reaching a combined circulation of 470 million have used industry-funded information.

The entire August issue of Pillsbury Classic Cookbook (circulation 450,000) Hamburger is devoted to beef, with 48 recipes and sidebars about burger safety and burger toppings.  A Fall packet with the theme “Comfort Cooking – a Trend That’s In” was distributed to media in August.  It features recipes for casseroles sized for smaller households, a mix-and-match meatloaf with three variations and a veal dish.

Regular releases also were distributed through the checkoff during the spring and summer, providing hundreds of placements that reached millions of consumers.  Among the recipes were ones for a Summer Steak & Potato Salad and Chili-Lime-Cumin Beef Skirt Steak Skewers.