CHECKING IN ON YOUR BEEF CHECKOFF “TACOS, TEQUILA Y MÁS” FOR CINCO DE MAYO by California Beef Council Director of Producer Communications Jill Scofield With spring well underway and summer on its heels, the California Beef Council (CBC) is in the midst of its latest integrating marketing campaign, which draws inspiration from the season. The CBC is partnering with the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) and E&J Gallo’s Camarena Tequila label for a cobranded Cinco de Mayo promotion. Dubbed “Tacos, Tequila y Más,” the five-week campaign runs through May 11 and provides consumers with product offers and savings, recipes, videos and other taco and margaritainspired content on a single online hub at TacoTimeCalifornia.com. For this campaign, the CBC is focusing on beef cuts for Carne Asada. Consumer offers include two options to earn cash-back: $2 cash-back on any brand Carne Asada beef cuts 1 pound or larger through the Ibotta mobile app; or a $1 rebate on a $10 any brand Carne Asada purchase through Checkout 51. Camarena Tequila and Real California Milk Hispanic-style Cheese and Crema are offering additional savings through in-store coupons. Research from IRI reveals that the average shopping basket with beef is more than twice that of the typical ring ($85.70 vs. $41.33, respectively), and beef in the basket drives 44 percent more total store sales than baskets with chicken and 21 times the total sales as baskets with beef substitutes. What’s more, in-store spirits displays see a lift in sales when displayed near or with meat (+9%), and the average basket ring for natural cheese is $90.86 compared to a much lower $39.74 on average basket without cheese. “When shoppers head in-store we are optimistic that they will see the mouth-watering campaign point-of-sale. And whether they’re shopping in-store or via e-commerce, we’re encouraging shoppers to add these three powerhouse products—meat, cheese and spirits—to their cart so they can create their own Tacos, Tequila y Más experience at home,” said the CBC’s Director of Retail and Foodservice Outreach Christie Van Egmond. The campaign has been heavily promoted through social media, the CBC
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website, and broadcast advertising. All content drives people to the custom URL where they can find links to each partner’s retail offer, videos from each partner, recipes and portals to more information on partner websites. In addition, Whitney Bond of WhitneyBond.com created a taco recipe and recipe video for the campaign, along with a blog post sponsored by the CBC. The TacoTimeCalifornia.com site also includes recipe inspiration, offering consumers mouth-watering images to help inspire their own taco night; a portal for consumers to learn more about Carne Asada and the specific beef cuts that work best; and details on the cash-back offers and in-store instant redeemable coupons. “What’s great about this campaign is that it is not only promoting beef and offering meal inspiration to consumers at a time filled with more optimism than we’ve seen in a while, but it also brings together California’s beef and dairy industries in this coordinated effort,” notes CBC Executive Director Bill Dale. “Partnering with other groups and products such as CMAB and E&J Gallo has been a great asset for the CBC and beef producers, as it elevates the profile of beef with complementary products, and also stretches our dollar further by joining forces with other organizations.” To learn more about this campaign and other CBC efforts, visit www.calbeef.org. A Fond Farewell Once you read these words, I will no longer be with the California Beef Council, as I transitioned to a new role in April. So as I write this final update for the California Cattleman, I do so with a lot of gratitude and fondness for all of the men and women who I’ve come to know in the nearly eight years I served as Director of Producer Relations. It’s been a
wonderful (and yes at times, challenging) journey, and what’s made it all worthwhile are the people I was proud to work alongside and now consider friends. California beef producers still have a great team working hard on their behalf, including our Executive Director Bill Dale, Director of Brand and Consumer Marketing Annette Kassis, Director of Retail and Foodservice Marketing Christie Van Egmond, and Director of Food and Nutrition Outreach Kori Dover. And of course a robust and dedicated board of producers, led by chair Tom Barcellos and vice chair Cindy Tews. While I know you will be in good hands, it is a bittersweet thing to say farewell for now. Thank you for making this a wonderful chapter of my life.
