CONTACT:   Melissa Slagle    303-867-6306  mslagle@beefboard.org

BEEF CHECKOFF VEAL ADVERTISING SHOWS VERSATILITY, STAYING POWER         

Ad delivers target message to top chain restaurant decision-makers.

(CENTENNIAL, Colo.) – Beef checkoff-funded veal advertising was recently a part of an independent study conducted by Harvey Research, Inc., to gauge readership response to specific advertising. Results were measured through personal, face-to-face interviews with a national sample of readers of the January 2008 issue of Chain Leader magazine, which reaches the nation’s top restaurant chain managers and executives.

Overall performance scores were based on the number of survey respondents who recalled seeing and reading the ad. The checkoff-funded veal ad landed in the top three with 74 percent seeing and 54 percent reading the ad.

“This is a testament to the success of programs that utilize beef checkoff dollars. For the past two years, we’ve used minimal dollars to create a high-impact ad that communicates our key messages to target audiences,” says Ray Krones, vice chair of the Joint Veal Committee and a veal packer and producer from Gilman, Ill. “The fact that readers’ comments from this study reinforce the versatility of veal in casual theme restaurants as well as upscale restaurants creates the potential for new customers and new menu items – a win for both the industry and our consumers.”

Not only is the ad seen in major foodservice publications, but state beef councils have used a larger version of it for tradeshow booths and local advertising. According to analysis of the Harvey Research study data, the ad is delivering the message the right way, to the right people.

“We’re extremely pleased with the success of the veal Go-to-Market strategy. Tactics such as this ad, which has proven to have staying power and reach, are really resonating with the core of who we’re reaching out to,” continues Krones. “We’ve been able to identify menu decision-makers, restaurant leaders and primary purchasing points within these chains in an effort to get veal on more menus, through versatile, innovative recipes.”

For more information about checkoff-funded veal efforts, visit www.vealstore.com or www.beefboard.org.

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.

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