SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO & MODESTO, Calif. — California's more than 1500 dairy families are inviting consumers to take a virtual trip to the land of Milk and Sunny with a new website called "Califarmia," where the cows moo like music and there's more sunshine than you can shake a stick at. The site from the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) introduces consumers to the number one dairy state and its farm families with compelling content, images and interactive graphics that provide an engaging look into modern dairy farming.
Each section of the new website offers a chapter in the story of Real California Milk:
- Videos introduce the farmers who raise the cows that produce the milk that nourishes families everywhere. California dairy family stories bring consumers to Califarmia, and provide a snapshot of real farmers doing their part to feed the world.
- Visually appealing graphics and facts that provide a lesson in "cowology," allowing consumers to learn about the care, comfort and health of the California cows that make the milk and dairy products enjoyed around the world.
- Recipes featuring the diversity of the dairy products made in California, from milk and butter to cheese and more, are a prominent feature on the new site along with multiple ways consumers can share the recipes they like.
- Community is at the core of everything California dairy farmers do. Here you can find examples of the many ways – from taking care of the land to supporting access to healthy foods – dairy farm families are working to make their communities better for generations to come.
"In today's hyper-connected world, consumers are used to instant-access to information about just about everything, including the food they eat and where it comes from," said CMAB Vice President of Advertising Michael Freeman. "Califarmia is designed to engage with consumers in an authentic way and let them connect with the cows, the land, the farmers and the food that comes from California dairy farms. We pair that with integrations into games like FarmVille and real-time interactions on social media where they can share and like and pin, to bring the story of California dairy to consumers where they are spending their time."
Once consumers visit Califarmia and get to know the California dairy families and cows that produce their milk, they are able to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for constant updates. They also can engage with one another by sharing favorite recipes through Pinterest. Consumers can even download the Cali CowChat app allowing them to create their own custom cow-vatar to record and send messages to friends through Facebook.
Finding innovative ways to engage consumers in the dairy category is not new for the CMAB, which is known for its creative California dairy advertising. Building on the popular current "Make Us Part of Your Family" ad campaign, the organization is using social gaming, mobile apps and other innovative tools to make sure California dairy stays relevant by taking the advertising and engagement directly to their fans.
The CMAB's partnership with Zynga, creators of the popular FarmVille game, is just one example of how the California dairy industry is connecting with consumers where they're spending time – playing popular games online. Starting with being the first-ever sponsored integration within FarmVille in 2012, the CMAB went on to partner with Zynga in FarmVille2 where gamers quickly populated their farms with California cows and barns featuring the Real California Milk seal. As a result, over 670,000 cows and barns live forever in these desktop games and continue to build awareness and affinity for California dairy products. Due to the success of this partnership, when Zynga recently launched the mobile version of FarmVille2, a California cow featuring the Real California milk seal was the first ever sponsored presence for their new mobile platform. To date, over one million unique FarmVille2 players have interacted with this cow on their mobile devices.
These multiple consumer touch points give California dairy lovers a true farm to family to mobile device to kitchen table experience reflective of the way consumers today interact with companies and products. Consumers can take a trip to Califarmia at RealCaliforniaMilk.com or like Real California Milk at Facebook.com/RealCaliforniaMilk.
About the California Milk Advisory Board
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state's more than 1,500 dairy families. With headquarters in South San Francisco and Modesto, the CMAB is one of the largest commodity boards in the United States. The CMAB executes advertising, public relations, research and retail and foodservice promotional programs on behalf of California dairy products, including Real California Milk and Real California Cheese. For more information and to connect with the CMAB through social media, visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com, like at Facebook.com/RealCaliforniaMilk, view videos at YouTube.com/RealCaliforniaMilk, follow at Twitter.com/RealCalifMilk and Instagram.com/RealCalifMilk and pin at Pinterest.com/RealCalifMilk.
Source: California Milk Advisory Board
