Rising Popularity Of Sasha Cohen A Boon To Beef

DENVER (August 16, 2002) – Olympic skating star Sasha Cohen, who names beef as one of her favorite foods, has had a busy year, highlighted by her overwhelming selection as the “hottest woman in sports” by a FoxSports.com on-line poll in July.  Sasha received 75 percent of the more than 100,000 votes in the two-day poll.

The beef industry’s Joint Youth Education and Information Subcommittee selected the rising figure skating sensation in 2001 as its spokesperson through a partnership with the U.S. Figure Skating Association.  Publicity surrounding Sasha Cohen and her enjoyment of beef in a healthy lifestyle was just one of many successful efforts by the subcommittee to reach its primary target audience, girls ages 8-12. 

Successful efforts by the subcommittee throughout the past months include the BurgerTown (www.burgertown.com) web site, the development of a program for Girl Scouts troops, development of a new school kit and continued placement of classroom education materials highlighting beef’s nutrient benefits.

The target audience for the youth education program was chosen by a Youth Strategic Planning Task Force, made up of cattle producers and state beef council representatives, which met in 1999 and 2000.  This group strongly recommended that a focus be kept on young people because they are not only future consumers, but consumers everyday with a huge influence over what their moms serve for dinner.

The beef industry’s youth program is funded through the $1-per-head beef checkoff.  It is being coordinated on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

Among the ways the subcommittee utilized the Sasha partnership was through a one-page, full-color ad featuring the Olympic skater in 11 high-profile publications this past April.  The ad notes that beef is one of Sasha’s favorite things.  It made more than 13 million positive impressions on the targeted age group through Sports Illustrated for Kids, Skating, Disney Adventures, Nickelodeon, Girls’ Life and other publications.

In addition, more than 7 million positive impressions have been made on the target audience through the youth public relations program since November 2001. These stories have appeared in popular youth media outlets such as Tiger Beat, Go-Girl.com, Skating, GirlsLife.com, Katrillion.com, TeenFX.com, Seventeen.com, Nickelodeon, Discovery Girls, Science World, and Seventeen.

Both radio and print news releases featuring the skater will be distributed soon to further describe her efforts to eat smart and keep fit.  She has also appeared on behalf of state beef councils to further spread the message.

Cohen was the silver medallist at the 2000 and 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Nationals, placing right behind Michele Kwan both times, and was fourth in the 2002 Winter Olympics. The 17-year-old knows that eating nutritious foods is important for her athletic performance.  “I love beef and have learned a great deal about how important its nutrients are,” Sasha said.

The industry’s checkoff-funded youth web site, BurgerTown (www.burgertown.com), also features  “Sasha’s Corner,” which includes tips on eating smart and staying fit, and fun food ideas using beef.  The site also presented a special chat session with Sasha this past year.  On both this web site and on her own web site Sasha names filet mignon as her favorite dinner.

 “Our relationship with Sasha has been very valuable to our industry, and we’re pleased to have had such an outstanding young person associated with beef,” said Gary Sharp, a South Dakota beef producer and chairman of the Joint Youth Education and Information Subcommittee.  “Girls in the pre-teen age group have definitely related well to Sasha and her messages about eating smart and staying fit.”

Sharp said the partnership with Sasha has been one of several successful strategies within the overall youth education strategy, which is a multi-faceted program. “We have worked hard as a producer subcommittee to make sure all of the youth program puzzle pieces fit most effectively and efficiently for our producers,” said Sharp.  “Our young people are an important audience for our industry and its checkoff programs.”

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