000380 Tyson Foods Launches Revamped Ad Campaign

Dallas, TX - Tyson Foods Inc., aiming to put more chicken on stoves and grills in American homes, broaches the delicate issue of food safety in a new multimedia advertising campaign.

The nation's largest chicken processor said that its network television, radio and national print ad campaign, by the Chicago office of Omnicom Group's DDB, will sport the tagline, “Tyson: It's what your family deserves.” It replaces “Tyson-We're chicken” that debuted in 1995.

“Consumers are very concerned that their chicken is all safe and natural,” said Bob Corscadden, vice president of corporate advertising for Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson. “They define 'all natural' as no hormones and no steroids.”

The new campaign includes three TV spots, three print ads and three radio spots informing consumers that Tyson chicken is raised without hormones or steroids. Each ad has a different family-oriented theme.

Corscadden said a substantial majority of the U.S. public believes that processed chicken contains steroids and hormones, and said the company is trying to let them know that its chicken has neither of these substances.

In answer to a question, a Tyson spokeswoman said the company's growers do not routinely use antibiotics with healthy flocks. But she said a veterinarian does occasionally prescribe them for ailing birds.

John Lea, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said focus group research last year indicated strongly that consumers are worried about the ingredients in the chicken they purchase. “We changed our message to address their concerns about the way our chicken is prepared,” Lea said.

“It's a tricky thing to do,” said George Dahlman, senior food analyst for New York brokerage U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. He said there is clear indication of consumers' focus on food safety, but cautioned that companies choosing to address the issue must do so in a positive, reassuring way rather than taking a negative tone or becoming too involved in details.

Tyson's Lea said the new commercials do just that. He said they have “great emotional appeal” that extends beyond the food processor's core target customer -- women aged 25 to 54 with children in their household, who are their family's primary grocery shopper.

Lea said Tyson will likely increase its 1999 media spending of $15.5 million by about 15% this year, and plans another 15% hike in 2001. The print portion of the campaign runs for seven months, with the broadcast portion running for five months.

As part of a major public relations effort, Lea said Tyson is close to signing an agreement with a worldwide hunger relief organization. It will make monetary and food contributions to the charity a well-highlighted part of its corporate program.

U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray's Dahlman said Tyson has been struggling lately, along with the rest of its competitors, due to an oversupply of chicken. But he said its fundamentals and management are on track.

On March 14 Tyson warned that earnings for the second quarter ending April 1 should be in the range of 14 cents to 16 cents per share, instead of the 27 cents reported by First Call/Thomson Financial. The poultry processor cited a distributor's bankruptcy and weather-related losses for the anticipated weaker profits. The company, which posted $7.3 billion in revenues and in $230.1 million earnings for the fiscal year ending Oct. 2, 1999, has about 27% of the estimated $20 billion U.S. retail market for chicken.

David Nelson, a director with New York brokerage Credit Suisse First Boston, said Tyson needs to cope better with unexpected external events to reduce volatility in its financial performance. He said Tyson's erratic results reflect, in part, the fact that it no longer prevails in its market, which the company dominated during the 1970s and 1980s by being quicker to introduce prepared and convenience foods.

Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council, a Washington, D.C.-based trade organization, said sales of whole and cut-up chickens in supermarket meat cases have been flat for several years as consumers have focused on convenience products such as roasted chickens sold in grocery stores or heat-and-serve dishes.

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