SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Devoted Philadelphia Eagles fans at Kurtland Farms of Elverson, Pa., and American Dairy Association North East teamed up to celebrate the big game by infusing their fandom with positive dairy messages.
ADA North East staff visited the farm to develop a fun story that was shared with local media and has resulted in more than 70 news placements in television, print and online, racking up close to 70 million media impressions. The estimated publicity value is more than $170,000 – which was at no cost to dairy farmers.
“With one of the seven NFL teams in our region going to the big game, we were able to capitalize on the media frenzy that surrounds the event, and showcase one of our dairy farm families who just happen to be major Eagles fans,” said ADA North East CEO John Chrisman. “The Kurtz family has served as spokespeople for dairy checkoff on many occasions, so they were the perfect fit to help share positive dairy stories while cheering on their home team.”
The Kurtzes decked out six of their calves in hutches with green calf coats to spell out E-A-G-L-E-S, and cleverly changed the names of familiar Eagles players to have a dairy twist. For example, instead of Jason Kelce, one calf became “Cowce.” Name signs were posted on the hutches to resemble the team’s locker room.
“Using the calf coats was a fun way to weave in messages to help consumers understand how conscientious dairy farmers are when it comes to caring for our animals,” said Jared Kurtz. “Any chance we can get to build trust in what we do on the farm is a win for us, just like the teams on the football field.
“This campaign went far beyond what we ever imagined and we’re proud to have been a part of it.”
Watch one of the features video clips from the popular magazine show “Inside Edition,” which was just one of the 70+ stories.
–Jean Kummer, American Dairy Association North East