000456 Pork Industry’s Huge New Marketing Campaign

Des Moines, IA - The National Pork Producers Council has announced a new checkoff-funded marketing effort to change the way people think about pork. The undertaking, the most significant since the launch of the Pork. The Other White Meat(r) campaign, will focus on the “other” in “The Other White Meat.”

New print and TV advertising, a revamped internet presence, and retail, foodservice and export initiatives are all part of the multi-year effort that takes on mealtime boredom.

“America's pork producers startled the world 13 years ago when they introduced The Other White Meat,” said Barb Determan, NPPC president-elect and Iowa pork producer. “Now we are poised to challenge thinking again as part of our mission to enhance demand for pork.”

“This is a significant effort aimed at helping to expand domestic and export demand and lead the industry forward,” said Al Tank, NPPC CEO. “Today, pork enjoys growing popularity because producers took a bold, decisive step in 1987.

“Nine out of 10 people recognize pork as `The Other White Meat.' In addition, a soon-to-be-released study of the most memorable contemporary advertising campaigns undertaken by the Northwestern University Graduate School of Integrated Marketing Communications will confirm the mark we have made,” said Tank. “Pork. The Other White Meat ranks in the top five of most memorable advertising slogans in America.”

Beginning in May, ads will show scenarios in which a consumer making a choice for dinner has to choose from the same old thing or “other.” The ads, created by Bozell Chicago, include a woman driving home from work thinking about dinner and a man peering into the refrigerator trying to find something to eat. All are part of the humorous way that NPPC will demonstrate how pork is the ultimate solution to mealtime monotony.

“The message is simple. Pork offers something different and different is what people want,” said Determan. The ads will appear in national magazines such as Cooking Light and Good Housekeeping and on cable stations such as The History Channel and The Weather Channel.

Also planned as part of the marketing effort are: A new, revamped website - www.otherwhitemeat.com - that will connect consumers with different meal ideas, cooking advice and tips. Special web banner ads and address call outs in TV spots will drive people to the site. New retail efforts, including the first- ever “counter seasonal” BLT promotion and an extended seven-month grilling promotion. A new overseas communication effort that will emphasize U.S. pork's world-class quality to trade and distribution audiences.

The NPPC has earmarked $26 million for these marketing communication activities during the first year of this multi-year effort.

The Pork. The Other White Meat(r)campaign helped turn around declining demand 13 years ago and keep it level since then.

The pork industry has grown substantially since the launch of Pork. The Other White Meat(r). The retail value of pork has steadily grown, outpacing the rate of inflation. Production has increased 37%. U.S. per capita consumption has climbed from 51.5 pounds to 53.4 pounds, and the U.S. has changed from being an importer of pork to being a net exporter of pork products.

“We believe the time is right to push the envelope again. Food & Wine magazine called us the `meat of the millennium.' We are poised to demonstrate to the world why,” said Tank.

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