Consumers most commonly associate veal with traditional Italian or German dishes, and often isn’t thought of during summer grilling season. To help generate awareness of veal options for the grill, the Veal Marketing program, through the beef checkoff, recently hosted a contest on the Veal Made Easy Facebook page. The contest was timed around National Grilling Month and solicited photos from Facebook fans to generate excitement around grilling with veal and engage fans in conversations around veal. Submissions were accepted through July 31, with 10 semi-finalists being named Aug. 3. Fans were also able to vote for their favorite; the winner will receive $100 in groceries.
Brianne Armstrong from Texas won the contest with her vegetable kabobs and grilled steak picture. The contest increased the checkoff-funded Veal Made Easy Facebook community by 53 percent.
“We continue to see more consumers engaged in social media – this is where they’re going for recipe ideas, meal planning and so much more,” says Dick Ayers, veal producer from Argyle, N.Y., and chair of the checkoff’s veal committee. “This promotion enticed shoppers to interact with veal, which we hope in the long term encourages more veal items on family dinner tables across the United States. As a veal grower, I’m happy to see my checkoff dollars invested in this growing online audience — and with phenomenal results!”
The checkoff’s veal program will launch another consumer sweepstakes on September 17 with a Columbus Day themed promotion, “Win a Trip for Two to Italy.” Retailers nationwide will feature on-pack veal cutlet recipes that also include information about the Italy promotion. TV commercials and on-line advertising will support the campaign.
Join the veal Facebook community conversation at www.facebook/VealMadeEasy.
For more information, visit VealMadeEasy.com. For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.
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.
Source: The Beef Checkoff Program
