VERONA, Wis. — The most flavorful time of the year is here, and families are gathering together for holiday meals featuring beef. Building on the success of the 2020 holiday promotion that brought Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. back to television, reaching millions of consumers, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, is extending the campaign even further this holiday season.
With 87 percent of consumers planning to watch holiday movies at home this year1, the Hallmark Channel with its popular “Countdown to Christmas” movies, is the perfect partner. More than 125 television ads will air throughout the holiday season, showcasing beef as the star of celebrations bringing people together. The television ads alone are expected to reach consumers 90 million times.
Beyond television, the holiday campaign will bring beef home through social media, influencer outreach and e-commerce efforts. In addition to showcasing beef appetizer recipes for holiday gatherings, social posts included new Chanukah content featuring brisket recipes. The Beef Checkoff is inspiring families to enjoy the moments that matter most with beef by providing simple “how-tos” on selecting, preparing and serving delicious and nutritious holiday beef meals to friends and family.
Nutrition, chef and ag influencers are bringing consumers additional information about nutritional benefits, cooking tips and animal care. Health professionals received American Heart Association certified beef recipes to help their clients make every bite–and moment–count this holiday season with beef. Chefs are showcasing their favorite holiday beef recipes, and ag influencers are providing insights into what it’s like taking care of their cattle, farms and ranches throughout the holidays, and what they do to adjust to the colder weather to bring high-quality protein to consumers across the country.
Engagement with national retailers such as Kroger and Sam’s Club will put beef in consumer carts through e-commerce promotions. These efforts are especially important since 63 percent of consumers are actively ordering groceries online2. In Wisconsin, those promotions will impact Pick ‘n Save and Metro Market stores. Consumers will see Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. digital ads on retail websites and smartphone apps and have the ability to add beef directly to their online shopping carts. These e-commerce efforts have proven very successful in the past. A recent summer grilling e-commerce campaign in partnership with Kroger had a return on ad spend of more than $59, which means every Checkoff dollar spent on this media returned more than $59 in beef sales.
The comprehensive holiday campaign is designed to reach a national audience, with state amplification extending the impact.
Locally, the Wisconsin Beef Council (WBC) collaborated with Julie Andrews, the registered dietitian and chef behind The Healthy Epicurean, to create her Beef Tenderloin with Cranberry Balsamic Compote in a free, virtual cooking class on December 15 with 20 participants. In addition to making the delicious Beef Tenderloin Roast start to finish in 50 minutes, WBC Director of Marketing Angie Horkan and WBC Consulting Dietitian Sarah Agena covered roasting techniques, holiday beef roast options, beef and wine pairings, and more.
Throughout December, Horkan plans to feature holiday entertaining recipes from Ribeye Roasts to flaky beef-stuffed pinwheels in 16 television segments across the state including top media markets such as Milwaukee, Green Bay and Madison.
WBC is also treating its Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube followers with tips and tricks to beef up the holidays. The highlight of this social media strategy is a five-day “Countdown to Christmas.” WBC will post an essential item for incorporating beef into holiday meals such as a roasting pan, meat thermometer, carving set and charcuterie board, along with easy-to-understand suggestions. Followers are encouraged to find those items in their own kitchens and comment with a picture while tagging a person they will spend the holidays with. Each comment earns an entry to win a $50 beef gift certificate, carving set, holiday apron and more in time for Christmas!
As consumers shop for family gatherings, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. will greet them where they watch, listen and shop, and remind them to bring beef home for the holidays. For more information, visit beeftips.com.
1 Holiday Campaign Research, Dynata Platform, September 2021
2 State of Consumer Survey, Dynata Platform, July 2021
The Wisconsin Beef Council is a producer-led non-profit organization funded by the $1.00 per head assessment on all cattle sold in the state of Wisconsin per the Federal Beef Promotion and Research Act & Order. Half of one dollar remains in Wisconsin for local beef promotion, while the other half is forwarded to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. The purpose of the Council is to fund beef promotion, research and consumer education activities supporting Wisconsin’s $2.1 billion beef industry. The WBC operates under the guidance of its Board of Directors. The Board is comprised of representatives from cattle-related organizations around the state of Wisconsin.
— Wisconsin Beef Council