Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Market Premium Food with Cookbooks and Recipes

According to a July 2009 report by Mintel, 52% of the general population is dining out less because of the economy. This presents an opportunity for premium food marketers to bring their message to the place where Americans are dining: their homes.

 

Here’s an out-of-the-box idea for reaching these in-home diners: cookbooks. In today’s digital world, you might be surprised to learn that many people still use printed cookbooks.

 

In a recent Better Homes & Gardens study, cookbooks ranked as the #1 resource women turn to for recipes, with 66% of total U.S. women and 91% of BHG readers selecting this option.

 

In addition, cookbooks took the #1 spot for quality of recipes – 84% of total U.S. women and 97% of BHG readers rated it the best source.

 

An excellent example of how to market your premium food with a cookbook is The Great Big Cheese Cookbook:

 

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Authored by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (disclaimer: they are a client), the book features more than 300 recipes all containing the most essential ingredient: Wisconsin Cheese.

 

Does your premium food product lend itself to a cookbook? What are some of your personal favorites?

 

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Celebrate National XYZ Day to Market Premium Food

Who doesn’t love a good celebration or holiday? Traditional holidays – Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc. – always draw a big marketing crowd.  Which makes it tough to stand out. But, if you think outside traditional holidays, opportunities abound for premium food marketers.

 

There is literally a food “holiday” for every day of the year.  Find the ones that best suit your brand and leverage them in your marketing efforts.

 

A great example is a campaign our agency developed for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board: April’s National Grilled Cheese Month.  No, we did not invent the holiday, but we did recognize its potential and have secured national television coverage, gained thousands of readers for an e-newsletter and secured millions in consumer impressions for this campaign alone.

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Here are just a few examples of some non-traditional food holidays to help you market your premium food:

 

January 4 – National Spaghetti Day

February 20 – National Cherry Pie Day

March 26 – National Spinach Day

April 17 – National Cheese Ball Day

May 2 – National Truffles Day

June 17 – National Eat All Your Vegetables Day

July 6 – National Fried Chicken Day

August 20 – National Lemonade Day

September 26 – National Pancake Day

October 28 – National Chocolate Day

November 14 – National Pickle Day

December 15 – National Cupcake Day

 

Once you have established which holiday (or holidays) works for you, the marketing possibilities are endless. Incorporating cohesive social media, public relations and advertising components will help spread awareness and allow you to build on the holiday each year.

 

What’s your favorite non-traditional holiday that celebrates food? Have you ever taken part in a national (insert food item here) day? Let us know.

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Friday, November 13, 2009

S&B Launches Cheese For Me

Have you ever stood in front of the cheese cooler and wondered which cheese to buy? Wisconsin produces more than 600 varieties, types and styles of cheese, so it can be quite a challenge.

Cheese For Me is a cheese lovers dream! After responding to a short set of fun and engaging questions, the site will generate a tasty selection based on your flavor preferences and sense of adventure.

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If you are feeling a little adventurous, you will also be offered Wisconsin Specialty and Wisconsin Original Cheeses to further guide you out of your culinary comfort zone – complete with links to the cheese companies that produce them. Many of these cheese suggestions are one-of-a-kind and only produced in Wisconsin.

For example, I took the quiz and discovered that my perfect cheese is Wisconsin Mozzarella, which means there are times I feel like kicking back and letting the day unfold as it may, then there are times when I like to take charge (pretty darn accurate actually). The two additional cheeses recommended were Wisconsin Vintage Van Gogh and Wisconsin GranQueso™…I might just have to try something new!

In addition to discovering the cheese for you, you’ll find links to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board’s immense database of recipes.

The site graphics and quiz will change seasonally. It will be updated after Thanksgiving with a holiday look and feel, including new questions tailored to the busy holiday season, so be sure to come back in December!

Be adventurous. Try something new. Discover the cheese that’s just for you. www.cheeseforme.com.

-Kaitlyn

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Friday, October 16, 2009

S&B Takes Home 4 PRSA Awards

It was a great week in S&B land! We received two Awards of Excellence and two Awards of Merit at the PRSA Alchemy Awards on October 15.

S&B’s award winning client work included the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board’s (WMMB) Grilled Cheese Month and Butter E-Newsletter as well as the National Honey Board’s (NHB) LA Invitations (see below) and Honey Simplified Brochure.

The awards mark a distinguishing year for S&B, including being named best advertising agency in Corporate Report Wisconsin’s Best of Business Awards, and five National Agri-Marketing Association first-place awards.

These campaigns were a blast to work on, and we look forward to our upcoming PR projects!

-Jon

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