The Canadian Cattlemen's Association

March 4, 2010 - Canadian beef brand consumer campaign launches in Ontario and Alberta

Calgary, AB – The Beef Information Centre (BIC) is launching the 2010 Canadian beef multimedia consumer campaign this week, with the aim of driving consumer demand for Canadian beef.

The campaign, focused mainly in Ontario and Alberta, will reach the Canadian consumer in multiple ways, encompassing tactics across Canada and integrating radio, print ads, outdoor billboards, a radio contest, website components, recipe booklets and grocery store initiatives.

The campaign focuses on the consumer brand position that Canadian beef is nutritious and lean. It aims to improve attitudes towards the healthfulness of Canadian beef and to increase awareness of the Canadian beef brand. “Beef’s great taste and convenience are also leveraged,” says John Gillespie, BIC’s chair and a feedlot operator at Ayr, Ont.

The three-month campaign runs from March through May targeting the beef consumer who eats beef one to two times per week with a specific focus on mothers 25-49 years of age, the food decision makers of the family. About 95 per cent of the target audience will see or hear various campaign components an average of 27 times, resulting in about 100 million impressions.

“The 2010 campaign drives a stronger ‘call to action’ to purchase Canadian beef, using radio, print advertising, outdoor billboards, online advertising, a radio contest, public relations, recipe booklets, grocery store programs and health professional initiatives,” says Gillespie.

Within Ontario and Alberta, the campaign will include three, 30-second advertisements plus 10 second radio tags; outdoor billboards that illustrate that Canadian beef is ‘Strong on Nutrients’; and online advertising on Google, Facebook and Yahoo that will direct consumers to the Canadian beef campaign micro-site that highlights the healthfulness of Canadian beef, recipes and a link to the beefinfo.org site. Across Canada, campaign components include a fun and interactive radio contest that focuses on the health benefits of Canadian beef, aired at over 100 radio stations; a series of full page print ads in key consumer magazines across English Canada, focusing on the nutrient benefits of Canadian beef with a one-third facing page featuring a Canadian beef recipe that features Canadian source grinds to optimize the value of Canadian commercial beef products; Canadian beef brand recipe booklets distributed to 1.2 million consumers through magazine inserts and grocery retail; and advertorials on ‘Naturally Nutrient-Rich Canadian Beef’ that will reach 6,000 dietitians across Canada.

The multimedia campaign is also being leveraged by key grocery retail partners including 220 Safeway stores in Western Canada, 169 Sobeys stores in Ontario and the Atlantic, and 77 Costco stores across Canada. Throughout the campaign, the Canadian beef brand will have significant presence with these partners and in additional retail partners’ flyers, with a combined estimated distribution of over five million throughout Canada. Select retail partners will also host a link on their websites to BIC’s consumer website; and in-store point-of-purchase materials will be featured in select trade partners’ stores, including signage, on-pack labels, consumer brochures and videos. New ‘Nutrient Rich’ consumer pamphlets will be distributed at partnered retail pharmacies reaching 6,500 consumers.

Consumer survey tracking in Ontario and Alberta will measure consumer awareness and attitude changes of the Canadian beef brand campaign, while Nielsen homescan research will measure sales impact of the campaign.

This new multimedia campaign is truly a national effort across all program areas at BIC. To access the campaign micro-site, go to www.beefinfo.org and click on the ‘Bright Idea’ link, or go there directly at www.beefinfo.org/site/goodnessineverybite


BIC’s efforts to maximize demand for Canadian beef and optimize the value of Canadian beef products is funded in part by cattle producers through the National Beef Check-Off, and through beef industry market development funds provided by the Government of Alberta and the Government of Canada.

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