US beef industry targets millennials
Beef councils from seven US states have teamed up with the national Beef Checkoff Program to inspire consumers across five states to visit a website dedicated to beef recipes. Using online search advertising on Google and YouTube video promotions, 100 million consumers will be targeted in the campaign.
Beef councils from Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Oklahoma have joined forces for The Top 5 State Media Campaign, which started in mid-May, and will continue to target GenY individuals until 31 August.
California, Florida, New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania are the five states targeted because of the high population of millennials.
Millions targeted
“This effort leverages our current national checkoff media buy and extends it more fully into the high-population geographies that arguably need it the most,” said Martin Roth, executive director of creative and digital media for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “Our goal is to provide consumers with inspiring beef meal ideas and the tools, tips and recipes they need to act upon their passion for beef.”
Through online advertising, the aspiration is that millennial carnivores will visit the BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com website and be inspired to shop for beef. Google ads have been set up to drive thousands of users to the website, while video ads at the start of YouTube videos will reinforce the meaty message.
The video ads will appear before a host of videos if consumers enter search terms like ‘easy meals’ or ‘steak’ into YouTube. These search terms will also bring up a link to the BeefItsWhatsForDinner website.
‘Beauty’ of digital
Pre-roll video advertising for YouTube is also part of the digital marketing mix. Here, users can watch a 30-second clip before viewing the full YouTube video.
A recent study conducted by AOL found that viewers of pre-roll video ads are 42% more likely to make a purchase from a brand whose ad they have seen in short-form video. Because Google is confident in this form of marketing, advertisers only pay when a searcher actually clicks on the link – known as a click through – rather than paying a fee ad hosting.
“That’s the beauty of online advertising – you only pay when people engage with your content,” said Roth. The cost of disseminating the beef message to consumers comes at about 10 cents per view, according to Roth.
The Top 5 State Media Campaign is a repeat of the same scheme that delivered over 369,000 page views last year. Now that the seven states will incorporate the Beef Checkoff’s online advertising plan, Roth hopes more people will choose beef. “Many more consumers will see the ads, thanks to the initiative of these states. It’s a great way to leverage our resources and materials, and get them to more consumers.”
