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STATE BEEF COUNCILS
Building beef demand by inspiring, unifying and supporting an effective state/national checkoff partnership.
Millennial Beef Advocates Solicited in Hard-Hitting Pennsylvania Campaign
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Face-to-face training and extensive education were in the mix when the Pennsylvania Beef Council conducted its Millennial 2 Millennial (M2M) Recruitment Program in fiscal 2015. The M2M Program was supported with a grant from the Federation Initiative Fund. During the project the PBC sought out and provided leadership and spokesperson training to millennial advocates for beef in Pennsylvania. The goal of the effort was to use these students to reach a millennial target with a unified beef industry voice. Volunteers were provided with beef council training and resources that would allow them to relate with other millennials. Recruits consisted of nine collegiate students studying agriculture, Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) graduates and former beef ambassadors from the
Pennsylvania State University. Professional trainers provided sessions on engaging in meaningful conversations about beef and understanding how to develop a personal brand that would allot them to enhance their advocacy on behalf of the product and the industry. The M2M advocates interacted with more than 63,800 consumers over an eightmonth period, with audiences that included millennial peers, youth, older millennial parents, nutrition influencers, industry professionals and others. The advocates also reached consumers through media interviews and other publicity. “With the help of the Federation grant, we were able to recruit a dynamic group of great young advocates who went above and beyond for the beef community this past year,” said Bridget Bingham, PBC executive director. “As a state beef council with a limited budget, we appreciate the opportunity to create a new program that effectively communicates the positive beef message among millennials, and we look forward to future expansion of this initiative in the M2M 2.0 Program.”
Positive Beef Message Communicated Through Nutrition Outreach in Michigan Health and fitness influencers in Michigan were the audience when the Michigan Beef Industry Commission worked to communicate the positive health and nutrition benefits of beef through a special campaign this past year. The effort was partially funded with a grant from the Federation Initiative Fund program. The MBIC connected with the audience by creating and staffing exhibits at two health and fitness expositions, hosting two Protein Challenge social media campaigns and using digital advertising to extend promotion of the Beef Checkoff Program’s national Protein Challenge. The two health and fitness expos had an estimated 47,000 people participating, with MBIC distributing beef nutrition handouts and directly engaging with more than 2,000 participants. MBIC staff also had meaningful conversations with dozens of registered dietitians and fitness trainers. Meanwhile, MBIC created a social media campaign to increase awareness of the Protein Challenge, successfully promoting the nutritious benefits of beef in a healthy diet. Nearly a thousand people were reached on Facebook during MBIC
Protein Challenge campaigns, with more than 4,000 Twitter impressions, 424 profile visits and 23 Twitter mentions generated. MBIC also successfully developed relationships with numerous key fitness and health influencers through the project, adding 75 new contacts to a growing email list of people who help deliver nutrition advice. A total of 277 surveys were completed by participants at the expos, with 18 identifying themselves as registered dietitians, 127 as trainers and 145 as runners. “The Health and Fitness Influencer project was definitely a success,” according to George Quackenbush, MBIC executive director. “The positive engagement at the health and fitness expos was very encouraging, with participants interested in receiving the Protein Challenge message. And they were excited to learn about the nutritious benefits of beef as an alternative to other proteins they may have been using. There are tremendous opportunities to build demand for beef within this audience, so we will be extending the resources and educational materials we created with this project in our outreach in 2016.”
MBIC connected with health and fitness influencers in the state by creating and staffing exhibits at health and fitness expositions.
Washington Takes Facebook by Storm The Washington State Beef Commission is going crazy on Facebook, making friends and generating Likes throughout the state. In September alone, WSBC Facebook advertising reached more than half a million consumers. Showing Washington consumers how easy it is to slow cook your way to the perfect game day celebration, the WBC extended its sponsorship of the Seattle Sounders S2 soccer team, encouraging consumers through Facebook posts to enter to win a month’s supply of Oberto beef jerky, Seattle Sounders autographed prizes and game tickets. (Oberto is produced in Seattle, Wash.) The promotion generated 5,872 consumer engagements and more than 1,000 giveaway entries.
Then as the Seattle Seahawks football season began, the WSBC launched a season’s worth of “Hawk Crock” giveaways, with Facebook posts delivering slow cooker beef recipes. Consumers commenting on the posts were entered into the drawing for prizes. The first two posts of the campaign reached more than 107,000 consumers, with a high rate of engagement: 3,400 consumers took action on the ad content. Patti Brumbach, WSBC executive director, said working with the Sounders and the Seahawks is part of a strategy that gets the most from checkoff dollars. “We are focused on working with local partners to amplify our presence on Facebook,” she said. “It is a great way to leverage our beef messages with the popularity of local sports.”
Federation Staff Provides Guidance, Updates for State Beef Councils During the 2015 fiscal year the Federation of State Beef Councils staff was travelling coast-to-coast, border-toborder, helping with state beef council strategic planning and providing updates to state boards and staffs on the progress of national efforts being conducted at NCBA on behalf of the Beef Checkoff Program. Federation Services Vice President Todd Johnson conducted strategic planning sessions in Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Virginia and Washington, while Rick Husted, NCBA vice president for strategic planning, conducted a session in Kentucky.
Program updates were provided in Kansas, Oregon, Alabama and Tennessee. Many NCBA staff members also gave updates while at state beef councils for checkoff-funded projects in their areas. “We appreciate the opportunity to work with state council staffs and boards to assure we are most effectively conducting the programs using the entire $1-per-head beef checkoff,” according to Johnson. “It’s an important collaboration and coordination between national and state efforts, a collaboration resulting in a partnership that has been successful for decades.”
North Dakota Beef Producers Help Celebrate National Eating Healthy Day North Dakota’s beef community teamed to display the American Heart Association’s up with the North Dakota chapter of the Heart-Check mark. American Heart Association to celebrate “Beef was the star of this event,” National Eating Healthy Day Nov. 5 with an according to Nancy Jo Bateman, NDBC exclusive event held at the 40 Steak & Seafood executive director. “There are eight cuts of Restaurant in Bismarck, N.D. The North beef that meet the AHA designation for heart Dakota Beef Commission helped coordinate health, and there are 38 cuts that meet the the event. USDA requirements for lean, up from six in National Eating Healthy Day was created 1989. We were excited to be able to celebrate to help raise awareness of the importance the very powerful and positive message that of good nutrition and making the best beef can be very beneficial to a heart-healthy eating decisions to reduce a person’s risk diet.” of cardiovascular disease and stroke. During the event at the restaurant, the NDBC sponsored a demonstration to show attendees ways to put heart-healthy beef on their table this holiday season – and every other day of the year. Participants learned basic cooking skills and techniques to get started and inspired – and have fun with beef. The cooking demonstration featured Chef Alan Abryzo from 40 Steak & Seafood, who showed consumers how simple it can be to cook healthy, inexpensive meals for their family and friends. That simplicity is evidenced by the fact that eight cuts of lean beef meet the requirements for heart-healthy Chef Alan Abryzo from 40 Steak & Seafood (left) welcomed NDBC foods as part of an overall healthy Chairman Clark Price of Hensler, N.D., to a special National Eating dietary pattern and are certified Healthy Day event at his restaurant Nov. 5.