In today’s Beef Buzz, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays talks with Jennifer Nealson, Senior Vice President for Global Marketing and Research with NCBA, who spoke about the cattle industry’s continued partnership with the Little League World Series. She highlighted the value of aligning beef promotion with such a widely recognized event. “Yes, the Little League World Series is coming up the first week in August, and we are going there with teams from all over the world,” she said. “We are the official sponsor of the perfect home plate and that’s exciting to us, because having the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner brand alongside something like Little League… it really promotes just how big we are.”
Nealson emphasized how this partnership with Little League helps strengthen beef’s place in the minds of young families. “Connecting with these young people, and of course, the young parents of these kids, is just another way that we can do that—keeping that brand front and center so that people recognize it and have a good association with beef and all of its value,” she explained. The event features a beef meal and activities that aim to engage and celebrate the spirit of youth sports and family togetherness through beef.
She also noted the international exposure the event provides, since teams from across the globe participate. “There are teams coming in from all over the world and having an afternoon full of beef games and beef meal—it’s just so fun,” Nealson said. “That’s what we’re all about—is fun and celebration and beef bringing people together.”
In addition to event partnerships, Nealson shared that NCBA has been actively investing in wellness research related to beef. “Over the last 18 months or so, we have done quite a lot of investment and research in understanding beef’s role in the perception of consumers as it relates to wellness,” she said. The focus has been on how consumers view beef in the context of health and nutrition, particularly the role of its high protein and 10 essential nutrients.
That research led to a newly launched campaign. “We just recently rolled out a campaign on wellness that includes digital properties as well as connected TV and streaming commercials,” Nealson stated. She reported the response has been strong, noting, “Almost 80% of the people that have seen this commercial are more likely to buy beef.” This positive feedback confirms that wellness messaging is resonating with consumers and directly contributing to increased beef sales.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
