Plans Underway for 2003 Summer Grilling Program

An aggressive campaign to move more beef during summer 2003 will be conducted through the beef checkoff’s Summer Grilling promotion.  The intent of the promotion, aimed at increasing demand for all cuts of beef, including undervalued cuts from the chuck and round, is to convince current grill users to grill beef more often.

The integrated retail marketing program, which included radio advertising, in-store merchandising, and strong public relations activities, will be conducted on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and state beef councils.  Extensive manufacturer and retailer tie-ins will significantly expand the campaign.

The 15-week 2002 campaign set out to position steak as “King of the Grill,” and succeeded in increasing beef grilling cut pound sales in the seven original target markets by 10 percent, and dollar sales of beef grilling cuts by 7 percent.  The majority of growth in beef grilling cut sales happened during non-holiday periods, when sales sometimes slip due to lack of feature support.

Public relations initiatives for the program resulted in 24 print placements in retail trade publications and 377 television and radio placements.  Total media impressions for the public relations effort totaled 374 million.

Thirty-five state beef councils executed complementary Summer Grilling promotions during the campaign, while more than 6,000 grocery stores utilized 3,700 floor graphics, 109,000 cart signs, 800 window posters and millions of brochures and recipes.

The 2003 campaign will include partnerships with several beef manufacturers, as well as companies like A.1., Kingsford Charcoal and E. & J. Gallo Winery (Redwood Creek brand).  The campaign will also participate in the Build a Better Burger program to broaden consumer reach.  Retailers will help further extend the summer grilling message.

State beef councils will again play a major role in both the rollout of the campaign and expansion of messages within their own states.

Targets for the national and state messages will be adults ages 25-54 who love beef and who are grilling enthusiasts.  It will involve a national focus with broader reach, blanketing the entire country throughout the summer.

It’s expected that more than 110 million coupons will be distributed through free-standing inserts in newspapers, and more than 22 million through in-store efforts.  The coupon support – completely funded by partner participation – will drive consumers to purchase more beef.

Manufacturing partners are investing more than $2 million into the campaign.  Retailers will also invest significantly in the program.  Total checkoff investment is $2 million, which includes advertising and retail promotion.

“We’re looking forward to building on what we learned in our 2002 campaign and creating a tremendously successful effort in 2003,” says Alan Hess, a beef producer from Alma, Kan., and chairman of the Joint Retail Committee.  “Retailers were able to see just how effective this kind of program could be, and with increased participation by manufacturers and other partners, we think we’ll have a winning combination for increased beef sales this summer.”