IN THIS ISSUE: Social influencers monthly content
Social media training for farmers
Food Day Omaha
Social experts highlighted at Iowa State University Fall and winter sales incentives
Sharing dairy's benefits with health professionals
Connecting with young dairy leaders, partners, and female farmers
Reaching Gen Z on the field and in the kitchen
COMMENTS FROM OUR CEO
It’s an exciting time of the year for dairy as Gen Z returns to school and activities, and we look forward to the upcoming holiday season. There have been many opportunities for dairy in the past couple of months, and we will wrap up the year by reminding consumers that dairy adds to the joy of the season.
Fall is an important time to connect with students and their parents to remind everyone of the nutritional benefits that dairy can provide to be fueled for success. You will find many activations below where Midwest Dairy leaned on partners like health professionals, sports figures, and retailers to share how dairy is essential for health. By reinforcing the positive impact dairy can have, we can be confident that dairy is positioned as a top choice at the grocery store, in restaurants, at school, and at home. Gen Z remains an essential target audience; providing a positive dairy experience is key to instilling a love for dairy at this crucial age.
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November 23, 2022
MOLLY PELZER
Monthly content from social influencers grow trust
With Gen Z spending over 10 hours daily engaging with content online, Midwest Dairy has been working with social influencers to reach them. Each month we partner with five influencers to incorporate dairy specific messages into their content with posts including new recipes, family activities, and simple ways to enjoy dairy as ways to generate conversations so this audience can feel good about consuming dairy.
Social media impressions, or the number of times people see this dairy specific content, average about 630,000 monthly. Engagements are the reactions to the content, including comments and shares, which are within the national average at about 1.55%. Influencers we regularly work with include @jesstturnquist, @haileyalmstead, @thosegarciagirls, @herheartlandsou l, and @ceedays. If you’d like to see this content in action, give them a follow on their accounts!
Midwest Dairy hosts social media
training for farmers
Providing leadership development opportunities for dairy farmers is an important part of Midwest Dairy’s strategic plan. This fall, we were excited to offer a learning opportunity focusing on social media by hosting a webinar titled “Understanding Social Media Algorithms to Grow Your Engaged Audience.”
During the webinar, Midwest Dairy’s Corporate Communication Manager Stephanie Onken broke down algorithms and shared tips and strategies that can be used to grow an online presence. Sixteen farmers registered for the training, and many webinar attendees had expressed interest in this topic leading up to the moment.
The attendees were asked to complete a survey following the webinar, and one farmer wrote, “I appreciated this unique take on social media engagement.” Midwest Dairy looks forward to offering new learning opportunities in 2023.
Sharing dairy's sustainability messaging at Food Day Omaha
With a vision that food is healthy, affordable, and suitably produced, Food Day Omaha offered an opportunity to share dairy’s sustainability story with consumers. Each year, Food Day Omaha calls consumers to nominate local food organizations for their work to fight food insecurity. These stories are then highlighted on their social channels, and winners are celebrated at the two day farmers market event.
Midwest Dairy supplied sustainability focused content that was shared on Food Day Omaha’s social channels, including a giveaway prompting followers to learn about water recycling on the farm and to comment on how they recycle. Other content included dairy recipes, an article highlighting Walk to Unlock, and breakfast promotion materials at Lincoln Public Schools.
From August through October 23, Facebook posts shared mentioned Midwest Dairy and used Midwest Dairy hashtags, reaching over 2,000 people. Other posts included the giveaway, which had the highest engagement. When considering what video content resonated most with viewers, the Adopt a Cow promotion highlighting Nebraska dairy farmer and board member Jodi Cast with JJC Jerseys was viewed the longest at eight minutes, followed by two sustainability videos.
Midwest Dairy social experts highlighted at Iowa State University
Midwest Dairy partners with America’s Cultivation Corridor to engage with their Gen Z Innovation interns. Midwest Dairy and Megan McAllister, Iowa dairy farmer and the farmer behind @megan_dairygirl, connected with Iowa State University Innovation interns on a social media and marketing panel. They discussed identifying good stories of innovation and how to use social platforms to share them impactfully.
The interns participate in America’s Cultivation Corridor’s new student internship program Next Gen Innovation Impact Study. Together with Iowa State University, they’ve invited these interns to explore how innovation elevates sustainability and resilience in food and agriculture systems.
Fall and winter sales incentives
Hen House initiates ice cream contest
Hen House Markets approached Midwest Dairy this fall to support a marketing campaign that would test a contest incentivizing customers to purchase dairy to win ice cream. Hen House worked with its vendor partner to secure a year’s worth of free Belfonte ice cream (one gallon per month) for each of its nine store locations. Using the Hen House loyalty program, Hen House could track purchases of Belfonte and draw a winner randomly for each store. This promotion was shared through email, social, and on the Hen House website for the member.
Midwest Dairy intends to use this ‘test and learn opportunity as a baseline for 2023 projects with Hen House to continue to grow trust and sales through our partnership
Bundle up with dairy at Casey's General Stores
November brings a new promotion at Casey’s General Stores across Midwest Dairy and beyond. The burrito and dairy bundle activation pairs milk (both pints and quarts, white and chocolate) with tasty cheese in their famous burritos and is available any time of day. The hearty burrito is filled and topped with melty cheese, an excellent fit with milk!
Digital media will drive shoppers to purchase the bundle, along with social media, an app push, and email blasts. The bundle purchase even earns shoppers 200 bonus points to further drive sales.
Image from email that went out to Hen House subscribers.
The perfect breakfast bundle for any time of day!
Sharing dairy's benefits with health professionals
Sharing dairy’s role in sports performance
Registered dietitian and board certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics Angie Asche took to her social media platforms this September to share how dairy should be included on the plate to improve sports performance. Asche shared that her take on dairy has evolved over the years. As she has begun learning the truth about sustainable dairy practices and animal care, she better understands how dairy is a critical environmental solution. As a dietitian, she has had a firm grasp of dairy's nutritional powerhouse but can feel confident supporting dairy with her newfound understanding of the environmental side.
Midwest Dairy partnered with her company Eleat Nutrition to bring this sustainable nutrition messaging to her followers. Angie shared with her 75,000 dedicated followers how to build a recovery smoothie to maximize protein intake and recover and rebuild fatigued muscles. With kids getting back to sports this fall and schedules picking up, this messaging hits her audience at a key time.
Registered dietitian reaches parents during back to school
Amber Pankonin, a Registered Dietitian and trusted source amongst consumers, is a valuable dairy champion throughout the Lincoln, NE, area and online. To highlight the importance dairy plays in fueling fun and play this school year, Amber developed a quick and easy Pizza Bowl recipe utilizing provolone and mozzarella cheese. She joined Pure Nebraska, to amplify this content to their 45,750 viewers and Facebook followers to educate parents on how dairy makes recipes quick, easy, and balanced.
Amber shared dairy’s positive impact on digestion and energy through her social media platforms. With a following primarily composed of parents of Gen Z, she spoke directly to those responsible for making purchasing decisions. This social activation reached over 6,285 consumers.
Reaching health professionals with culturally relevant dairy nutrition education
To elevate our work within Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics, Midwest Dairy hosted a November webinar titled “Dairy Diversified: Enhancing Nutrition by Providing Culturally Relevant Education” for WIC practitioners. WIC staff from the 10-state region were invited to participate in the sponsored webinar.
Presenter registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator Marina Chaparro identified meaningful ways to provide culturally relevant education for WIC clients to utilize the dairy components fully. In addition, Chaparro discussed strategies for helping with lactose intolerance and reviewed best practices for working with diverse populations to help foster more meaningful interactions. Over 200 individuals registered for the webinar, with nearly 100 participating live. Those who were not able to participate live received the webinar recording. Midwest Dairy wellness resources were highlighted and shared electronically with all participants.
Connecting with young dairy leaders, partners, and female farmers
Food animal networking event connects with young dairy leaders
Recently, Midwest Dairy met with future young dairy leaders at the 10th annual Food Animal Networking Event hosted by the Gopher Dairy Club at the University of Minnesota.
This event connects dairy students to opportunities from dairy based employers, allowing Midwest Dairy to network with prospective students. Throughout the evening, staff involved with past and future young dairy leaders shared the many programs Midwest Dairy offers, encouraging college students to apply for internships and dairy ambassador opportunities. Deadlines to apply for internships with Midwest Dairy are quickly approaching, and the deadline to be an ambassador is December 15 Learn more about the ambassador program here.
Checkoff excursion highlights dairy partners
Dairy farmers from Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and Arkansas gathered in Kansas City, MO, to hear from dairy checkoff partners. Partners such as Casey's, KC Mom's Network, and Lee's Summit Public Schools were present and explained why partnering with the dairy checkoff and local dairy farmers are valuable. The event kicked off with comments from the "Voice of the Kansas City Chiefs" Mitch Holthus, a private tour of GEHA (Arrowhead) Stadium, and ended at Jasper's Italian Restaurant. Dairy farmers also participated in an ENGAGE workshop to learn about today’s consumer and discover tips and techniques to have meaningful conversations about dairy farming.
Midwest Dairy sponsors breakout session at Dairy Girl Network’s National Conference
This fall, Dairy Girl Network's 2022 Forward TogetHER national conference took place in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Over 250 dairywomen attended the conference both in person and online, and Midwest Dairy sponsored a conference breakout session titled “Running out of gas: keeping up on social.”. During the breakout session, Midwest Dairy led a panel discussion with three dairy farmers, Lindsey Borst (MN), Megan McAllister (IA), and Carrie Mess (WI). They shared their stories and experiences with social media and shared tips and tools farmers can use to help stay motivated to post on social media. The topic was well received and we had over 30 attendees in the breakout room.
Fueling fun on the field and in the kitchen
Arming high school coaches to support athletic performance confidently
High school coaches serve as role models for athletes, making them pivotal partners in reaching this Gen Z audience. Athletes spend numerous hours each week with their coaches. They care about what their coaches say regarding nutrition, and coaches feel it is essential to provide primary education to benefit performance.
In partnership with the Nebraska Student Nutrition Action Committee, a flyer was developed to reinforce the importance of school lunches and how they benefit athletes. Highlighting thought leader David Ellis, Registered Dietitian and Director of Performance Nutrition at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, coaches learned why supplements have a time and a place and how Ellis educates his athletes on what and why behind fueling.
Ellis is a champion for dairy and teaches his athletes that casein, a primary protein found in Greek yogurt, is a slow digesting protein that keeps them full through the day. In his resources, Ellis also shares post recovery fueling tactics that are a healthy balance of carbohydrates and protein, often highlighting chocolate milk, protein shakes, cottage cheese, and yogurt.
Capitalizing on the flyer provided to 1,650 coaches at the August Annual Clinic, Midwest Dairy amplified the importance of school meals and dairy as a prime recovery tool to over 4,200 coaches across Nebraska. Additionally, publications were posted online where coaches and website visitors can view and access them. QR codes in the article take coaches to recourses to help
Dairy farmers and staff at GEHA Stadium home of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Midwest Dairy sponsors breakout session at Dairy Girl Network’s National Conference.
Arkansas / Southern Missouri / Oklahoma
Stacy Dohle 417-298-2780 sdohle@midwestdairy.com Iowa Mitch Schulte 319 775 3451 mschulte@midwestdairy.com Minnesota Lucas Sjostrom 763 355 9686 lsjostrom@midwestdairy.com
North Dakota Char Heer 701 321 1239 cheer@midwestdairy.com
Karlie the Milk Cow took to social media to educate parents and kids about how dairy provides protein to keep you full, boosts immunity and build strong bones.
Illinois Kendra Anderson 309 825 2196 kanderson@midwestdairy.com
Kansas / Northern Missouri Ron Grusenmeyer 816-873-0351 rgrusenmeyer@midwestdairy.com
Nebraska Tracy J Behnken 531-207-4291 tbehnken@midwestdairy.com
South Dakota Tom Peterson 605 251 2439 tpeterson@midwestdairy.com
David Montgomery from the Chicago Bears teaching in the kitchen.
