Promoting Products with Checkoff’s Mark of Quality Elevates Program

DENVER, Colo. (September 19, 2002) – Branded beef manufacturers are joining with checkoff-funded new product promotion programs Oct. 6 to promote products carrying the Mark of Quality to the consumers in key cities around the nation.  About 41 million households will be reached by the promotion of the checkoff’s Mark of Quality, which signifies that the beef product delivers what consumers expect in terms of taste, quality and satisfaction.

The promotion, in the form of a freestanding insert in Oct. 6 Sunday papers, will feature the checkoff-funded Mark of Quality on the cover page, and manufacturers’ coupons in the following pages.  Branded products with national distribution such as Lloyd’s and Old El Paso will be included in a majority of the inserts, while regional versions of the insert will feature promotions and coupons from Mosey’s, RMH Foods and/or No Name Steaks.

“This effort should really raise consumer awareness of, and equity in, the beef checkoff’s Mark of Quality,” according to James Herring, chairman of the industry’s Joint Brand-Like Commission.  Use of the Mark is overseen by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, while management of the program is provided by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) under contract to the Board.  The Beef Board also authorized the freestanding insert to promote new beef products and the Mark of Quality program.

As part of this effort, there will be 355 local and five national 10-second television spots featuring a brief message to raise consumer awareness of the Mark of Quality.  The spot features a shot of branded beef products that have earned the Mark of Quality and is running in 12 major consumer markets Sept. 1-15.

Cable stations using the regional spots include Nickelodeon, The Learning Channel, TV Land, USA, Lifetime, Animal Planet, Discovery, TNT, TBS and A&E.  The five national spots will run on PAX cable network from Oct. 2 to Oct. 6.

“We’re continuing to build equity of the beef checkoff’s Mark of Quality with manufacturers, and this is a way to further build it with consumers,” said Herring, a cattle feeder from Amarillo, Tex.  “This new effort takes our program up a notch, creating a link in the minds of consumers that will be valuable in helping the industry sell more beef.”

Herring said that brands are playing an increasingly important role in the beef industry, which makes this program especially valuable.  The Mark of Quality was designed to help improve both consumer and retailer perceptions of these new, value-added beef products, and build more demand for new beef products.

The Mark of Quality was created through the Brand-Like Initiative, implemented through the beef checkoff to emphasize the beef industry’s focus to put consumer needs first.  There are 55 beef products that have been approved to use the Mark, six of which were approved in August and must meet additional stipulations before they’re allowed to officially use the symbol.

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