Beef Training
– The checkoff’s
www.BeefRetail.org Web site has been updated with several new
sections, including “Beef Training Camp,” to serve as additional
resources to retailers and ultimately increase beef demand by
giving consumers what they want in the meat case. Beef Training
Camp is a training tool designed to educate meat case employees on
everything related to beef. It includes education about beef cuts,
cooking methods, popular dishes, trends, recipes, safe handling
instructions, beef nutrition, serving Hispanic customers and
customer service. An electronic version of the guide is now
available at
Beef Training Camp.
Nutrition Central
– The Beef Checkoff Program also launched
“Nutrition Central” to educate retailers about beef’s nutrition,
to help them communicate beef’s protein-packed nutrition message
to consumers, and to execute on-pack nutrition labeling programs
on meat packages in their stores. The guide has been made
available online at
Nutrition Central.
Cooking Up The Cook-Off
– Plans are under way to produce a 90-second beef
vignette for the “Mr. Food” syndicated TV segment, which will be
viewed in more than 50 cities on all major TV affiliates and
independents on Jan. 8, 2009. The segment will deliver key beef
promotional messages through a medium that encourages viewers to
enter their beef recipe in the 2009 National Cook-Off and directs
them to the
Cook-Off Web site for information. In addition, it reinforces
the enjoyment and health benefits of cooking with lean beef and
demonstrates preparation of one of the lean beef finalist recipes
from the 2007 Cook-Off. The recipe will be available for download
on the Mr. Food’s Web site, which attracts more than 80,000 unique
visitors per month and
www.beefcookoff.org.
Reaching The Masses
– As the first year of the checkoff’s “Powerful Beefscapes” wraps
up, the numbers for Fiscal 2008 are in: The advertising campaign
successfully reached 89.7 percent of the consumer target an
average of 16.3 times in an effort to keep Beef top of mind with
consumers, reinforce their passion for beef and promote and
strengthen its positive health attributes. Checkoff print ads
appeared in 35 national magazines a total of 143 times, and radio
advertising ran on about 17,465 radio stations across the
U.S. Further, strong media negotiations garnered more than $2.7
million in earned/bonus media space, at no incremental cost to
beef producers! The July 2008 Consumer Beef Index Survey, funded
by checkoff, demonstrates the exciting results of the new
advertising campaign in the areas of consumer perceptions about
beef, which now is more likely to be viewed as a “smart choice”
that provides a balance of taste and nutrition – a product that
consumers can feel good about eating. For “Powerful Beefscapes”
print and select radio executions, go to
2008 Consumer Advertising.
Serve Safe!
– During Fiscal Year 2008, the beef checkoff’s sponsorship
investment in the International Food Safety Council (IFSC) helped
certify more than 348,000 foodservice professionals in ServSafe®
training. The IFSC’s mission is to heighten awareness and
importance of food-safety education throughout the $531 billion
foodservice channel. Envisioning and working toward eliminating
foodborne illness, the ServSafe® curriculum covers a wide range of
food-safety “Best Practices” – among them inspecting for
temperature abuse or product tampering; proper techniques for
storage, handling, and cooking; procedures to guard against
cross-contamination, and more. For more information about the
checkoff’s food-safety efforts in the foodservice arena, go to
Beef Foodservice.
