8 NATIONAL CATTLEMEN
T H E
www.BeefUSA.org
F E D E R A T I O N
O F
STATE BEEF COUNCILS
Building beef demand by inspiring, unifying and supporting an effective state/national checkoff partnership.
Partnership Encourages More Beef Purchases
A popular app that allows consumers to obtain cash rebates based on beef purchases is also generating rewards for the beef industry through increased consumer knowledge about beef and its benefits. The free app, called Ibotta, also gives the beef industry important information about its customers. Ibotta is downloaded onto a smartphone by consumers who then select a grocery item they wish to purchase. Then, the consumer is educated and engages with the brand or product by watching a video, reading a recipe, learning a nutrition fact, or another
task, about that grocery item. Ibotta provides the consumer with cash back rebates on the products once they buy them. Ibotta is the 16th most frequently used mobile app in the United States, and has the largest and farthest reaching mobile user base in the grocery shopping application space. Ibotta’s millennial audience, primarily made up of mobile-savvy young moms, is a key demographic for the beef industry. “Consumers are moving away from coupons, and Ibotta fits the way they are shopping today,” according to Jennifer
Houston, chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils and a livestock market operator from Sweetwater, Tenn. “Furthermore, coupons don’t provide an ‘education moment,’ which applications like Ibotta can.” The most recent Ibotta partnership was a cooperative effort funded by the Federation of State Beef Councils, a major packer and a large national warehouse retailer. Results from the partnership found that by including the featured beef item, the basket value increased by nearly $28 for the retailer. This and other Ibotta beef partnerships have educated consumers
about how to freeze ground beef, the nutrient profile of beef, and featured no-recipe recipes for quick and easy dinners. Furthermore, it has provided the industry with key information, such as what other products consumers are buying when they purchase beef. “Working with this key smartphone application allows the industry to create a one-on-one conversation with today’s beef buyers, reaching them with great information while helping build beef sales,” said Houston. “It’s also a great fit for the industry’s focus on the millennial consumer.”
Ann Marie Bosshamer, executive director of the Nebraska Beef Council, explains cattle feed to two representatives of Grandview Steakhouse in Columbus, Ohio: Jeff Lindemeyer, executive chef (center), and Peter Chapmen, regional chef. Twenty-two beef marketers from across the United States were part of the Nebraska Beef Experience tour June 9 and 10, including chefs, retail grocery directors, dietitians and culinary instructors. Participants were from New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Louisiana, Utah and Pennsylvania. The annual tour is a way to help educate attendees on the beef production process and introduce important beef marketers to the various segments of the beef community. The NBC has been hosting these tours for 15 years, and worked with state beef councils from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana and Utah to identify and solicit participants.
Teaming with Certified Angus Beef and two Seattle area craft distillers, the Washington State Beef Commission created beef recipes to capture the attention of more than 500 millennial urbanites who were tasting their way through an event July 11. As a presenting sponsor, the Beef Commission served Cherry Bomb Burgers and Cowboy Steak Paninis, which paired beef, spirits and seasonally relevant ingredients at PROOF Washington, with attendees sharing their experience and creating almost 260,000 social media impressions through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
This past year the New York Beef Council used a grant from the Federation Initiative Fund to help promote the showing of Farmland, a documentary by James Moll, on college campuses in New York State. NYBC screened Farmland on seven campuses – mostly culinary institutions – as well as at the NYBC Beef Tour, New York Beef Producers Annual Meeting and twice daily for three days at the New York Farm Show in Syracuse, N.Y. The showings of Farmland provided transparency into how today’s food is produced and enhanced trust and relationships with millennials and others who often have misperceptions about current agricultural production practices.
Becky Church, a member of the Minnesota Beef Council’s Team BEEF, runs in the Stockyard 5K event in New Brighton, Minn. Aug. 8. Team BEEF Minnesota runs in races throughout the state, and is partially funded through a grant from the Federation Initiative Fund. The program has increased the organization’s partnerships with health and fitness enthusiasts and influencers. Eighty-five percent of Team BEEF Minnesota team members are actively engaged in social media through the group’s Facebook page to communicate the value of beef in an optimal diet. Church is currently an intern with BEEF Magazine in Minneapolis, Minn.
The Indiana Beef Council conducted a tour for nearly 60 culinary professionals at a beef farm in north central Indiana. The tour was held in conjunction with the Indianapolis chapter of the American Culinary Federation, and was partially funded with a grant from the Federation Initiative Fund. Nine beef producers from various operations provided information at the June 22 event, which helped educate these current and future beef users and influencers about the industry.