Our farm and cattle herd are just south of the Des Moines metro area. Often, I get requests from photographers working on stories who need a rural backdrop. I always ask if they’re looking for something special. And I always get the same response: “I just want to ride around with you during your normal routine.”
Against that backdrop comes a common observation. The way people bond with our product is truly remarkable, even with the day-to-day work we can take for granted. What always impresses me is the emotion behind it.
I also see that in my role with the beef checkoff. The average consumer might not know what the beef checkoff is, but simply mention “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner,” and the lightbulb comes on. The Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner brand has executed many iconic advertising campaigns over the past 31 years. That’s why people remember the name so well – they recall the TV commercials or the familiar music on the radio.
During my time as co-chair of the beef checkoff’s Domestic Marketing Committee, it’s been eye-opening to learn how the folks behind Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner develop new ways to reach consumers. Throughout the years, the brand has continued to evolve based on checkoff-funded research about changing consumer preferences, demand drivers and market trends. Now, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner has launched a new three-year advertising campaign: “Together We Bring More.”
Special occasions and everyday moments
Do you remember what your grandma used to serve for Sunday dinner? Or maybe the meal you had catered for your wedding reception? Together We Bring More is based on the emotional connection that we have with life’s milestones – and how beef can transform our experiences, big or small, into meaningful moments.
This campaign shares messages about beef’s eating experience, nutrition, how it’s raised and grown, its convenience and versatility – all areas that checkoff-funded research has identified as directly driving consumer beef demand.
How did Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner come up with this idea? The folks behind the brand hosted six focus groups to gather feedback on the campaign’s concept and other key insights, like how beef is associated with memories of comfort and bonding. Members of the focus groups discussed “beef moments,” including celebrations, special occasions and life’s simple pleasures, like backyard barbecues and Taco Tuesdays. Focus group participants said that while beef was often at the center of special events, it also made everyday moments more special.
Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner is using checkoff-funded consumer segmentation research to target consumers based not only on demographics but also personality traits, values, attitudes, interests and lifestyle choices. By understanding this data, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner can get the right message to the right consumer at the right time.
Telling beef’s story
Together We Bring More uses a storytelling approach shared through photos, video, audio and digital advertising formats. This way, consumers can see themselves, their families and their friends within the content and create their own emotional connections.
The campaign started by focusing on beef’s eating experience and how consumers enjoyed time together over the summer months. As time goes on, beef nutrition content will be added to the campaign, along with content about how cattle are raised. This content will be delivered in various ways, including online digital, social media, streaming radio, billboards and even on broadcast TV. Together We Bring More commercials will be featured on the Food Network, which reaches approximately 85 million households in the U.S., and on Fox Broadcasting during major league baseball.
Influencers will also play a key role in this campaign, showcasing how Together We Bring More, whether that be a more meaningful experience, better nutrition or a stronger beef industry. Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner is working with food influencers to create beef recipes for different-sized gatherings and will work with chefs to get an inside look at the role beef plays in their personal lives.
Optimistic future
Because Together We Bring More will go on for three years, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner has the time to really optimize and grow campaign messaging and compile a library of creative assets like never before. Through the campaign’s storytelling approach, consumers can learn more about what beef means to them and share their own stories.
Together We Bring More illustrates something we producers already know – beef is not just for special occasions but can make every day, meal and moment better.
