Beef Checkoff Targets Foodservice, Middle Meats

“The checkoff recognizes how important the restaurant landscape is to the livelihood of the industry; therefore, checkoff dollars are being invested to promote all beef, with special emphasis on middle meats,” says Bill Jackson, chairman of the industry’s foodservice committee. “The foodservice channel is very diverse, comprised of commercial restaurants and on-site foodservice operations such as hotels/lodging, recreation, colleges and universities, hospitals and schools. In 2008, beef wholesale purchases by all foodservice segments totaled $26.3 billion – that’s more than 8 billion pounds of beef or almost half the beef sold in the United States! What an opportunity for the checkoff to have some impact.”
 
One tactic in the revised promotional efforts is the BEEFlexible Ad Campaign. The campaign promotes the power of beef’s versatility across the menu landscape. Each ad contains a “call to action” directing readers to a Web site designed specifically for foodservice professionals. Its success was recently recognized by peers as the campaign received a National “Best of NAMA” Award.
 
“Foodservice is suffering far less than other industries, so the checkoff’s revised tactical plan to promote middle meats is a sort of stimulus plan for the foodservice channel. And, as a proactive measure for tougher economic times, another ad campaign called ‘Beef Profit Power’ was launched in conjunction with the BEEFlexible campaign,” Jackson said. “This Profit Power campaign spotlights a series of compelling statistics that emphasize just how profitable beef can be for foodservice operators.”
 
To extend these promotions, the beef checkoff partnered with Golden Corral in The Beef Lovers Promotion. This promotion ran in all 485 Golden Corral restaurants in 41 states from October 20 through December 31, 2008, during a period of softening steak sales, and moved almost 14 million pounds of brisket, shoulder clod, beef flats and sirloin.

For information on checkoff funded programs and support materials available, visit www.mybeefcheckoff.com.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Workforce

We need a leash on the NLRB

Reality Check: The federal labor watchdog has gone off the rails again. Whatever happened to government accountability?

Financing

In appreciation of Texas Roadhouse

The Bottom Line: The steak chain has been one of the most consistently strong performers in the industry going into and coming out of the pandemic, largely by doing things the right way.

Marketing

How Facebook and Instagram are courting restaurant marketers

At a gathering for restaurants at Meta’s Chicago headquarters, the social media giant made its pitch for how it can help brands reach more customers.

Trending

More from our partners