Bedford – The Beef Checkoff’s Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative hosted a hands-on training opportunity in Washington D.C. on January 15, 2020 with eighteen influencers from across the Northeast region. The group consisted of chefs, registered dietitians and health professionals, Team Beef members, as well as lifestyle and food bloggers.
These influencers serve as valuable members of the beef community, with the opportunity to bring the positive beef story to their circles of influence every day.
Kaitlyn Swope, Director of Consumer Affairs with the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative noted, “For this year’s training we brought together a core group of influencers from across all program areas and had a day-long session built to strengthen their advocacy skills. The training was designed to leave our influencers with a better understanding of the current issues facing the beef industry, as well as how to advocate on behalf of the industry through various avenues in their everyday outreach as influencers.”
The day started off with a session designed to update the group on the current issues facing the beef industry, along with best practices and hands-on exercises surrounding how to respond to potential issues in their everyday outreach with their unique circles of influence. The session was led by the Issues Management team at National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff. Virginia Beckett, Director of Issues Response with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff had attendees put these newly learned best practices to work while walking through a mock issues response exercise. The training was rounded out by a session titled, ‘Utilizing Digital Platforms to Connect Your Followers to Beef’s Story’, presented by Karoline Rose, Owner and CEO of KRose Marketing and Consulting. Karoline had an interactive session on how these influencers can better utilize their digital platforms to connect their follows to beef’s story. Chrissy Carroll, Registered Dietitian blogger and social media enthusiast at Snacking in Sneakers shared, “The Northeast Influencer training was incredibly helpful for bringing light to some of the key issues facing the beef industry. Consumer confusion and perception over issues like sustainability and antibiotic use are frequent occurrences, both on social media and in one-on-one conversations. This training helped me better understand ways to effectively (and not defensively) approach these conversation topics” following the training.
Events like this allow the Beef Checkoff to engage directly with our regional influencers, all while building them up as beef advocates. Arming these influencers with beef’s key messaging will help us disseminate this vital information to more consumers. Beef Checkoff-funded research in the Northeast shows that nutrition-focused efforts are making a difference with the Northeast’s metropolitan consumers. Messaging related to beef’s protein, lean cuts and essential nutrients appear to be reaching, and favorably influencing, consumers.
For event photos visit the NortheastBeefPromo Facebook or Instagram pages. This event was made possible by the checkoff’s Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative. For more information, visit NEBPI.org or MyBeefCheckoff.com.
Media Contact: Kaitlyn Swope; kswope@pabeef.org or visit the NEBPI website.
###
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 may 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. Internal links within this document are funded and maintained by the Beef Checkoff. All other outgoing links are to websites maintained by third parties.
