A Brief Look At USMEF “We Care” Campaign
Japan
A Brief Look At USMEF “We Care” Campaign
As U.S. beef is reportedly en route this weekend to consumers in Japan, USMEF Tokyo is preparing to overcome negative consumer sentiment and encourage hesitant sellers through its multi-faceted “We Care” campaign. Consumers saw the first visible extension of this effort Friday in the form of newspaper ads and a new Web site.
Also on Friday, several U.S. industry in-country representatives attended a meeting to be briefed on the new campaign. USMEF Japan Director Greg Hanes explained that “We Care” will have two main elements, a “push” effort directed at the trade and a “pull” element directed at consumers.
The objective of the trade strategy is to convince retailers and foodservice buyers who are “sitting on the fence” to purchase U.S. beef by demonstrating that the product is safe, there is little chance for problems, consumers want it and U.S. product is profitable. This strategy will be supported through:
- Buyer teams
- Beef caravan
- Virtual tour – trade version
- Approved packer book
- Retail and HRI promotions
- POS materials
- Experts to the U.S. to observe and report on industry efforts
- Food safety communication
- A reception at ambassador’s residence
- Constant barrage of positive articles in trade media
The “consumer pull” objective is to create positive attitudes and “positive peer pressure” to drive undecided consumers to purchase U.S. beef. An “everyone is doing it” attitude will be achieved through:
- Newspaper ad (August 4, 2006)
- Launch of wecare.jp Web site (August 4, 2006)
- Virtual tour – consumer version
- Other advertising
- Press conference
- Media gatherings
- “We Care” local barbecue series
- Support of other events
- Positive PR and news releases based on above events
- Utilize ‘Key Opinion Leaders’ or other methods to disseminate positive messages
Watch next week for a special edition of Export Newsline with additional details, including when, where and how U.S. exporters can participate in these activities.
Japan
A Brief Look At USMEF “We Care” Campaign
As U.S. beef is reportedly en route this weekend to consumers in Japan, USMEF Tokyo is preparing to overcome negative consumer sentiment and encourage hesitant sellers through its multi-faceted “We Care” campaign. Consumers saw the first visible extension of this effort Friday in the form of newspaper ads and a new Web site.
Also on Friday, several U.S. industry in-country representatives attended a meeting to be briefed on the new campaign. USMEF Japan Director Greg Hanes explained that “We Care” will have two main elements, a “push” effort directed at the trade and a “pull” element directed at consumers.
The objective of the trade strategy is to convince retailers and foodservice buyers who are “sitting on the fence” to purchase U.S. beef by demonstrating that the product is safe, there is little chance for problems, consumers want it and U.S. product is profitable. This strategy will be supported through:
- Buyer teams
- Beef caravan
- Virtual tour – trade version
- Approved packer book
- Retail and HRI promotions
- POS materials
- Experts to the U.S. to observe and report on industry efforts
- Food safety communication
- A reception at ambassador’s residence
- Constant barrage of positive articles in trade media
The “consumer pull” objective is to create positive attitudes and “positive peer pressure” to drive undecided consumers to purchase U.S. beef. An “everyone is doing it” attitude will be achieved through:
- Newspaper ad (August 4, 2006)
- Launch of wecare.jp Web site (August 4, 2006)
- Virtual tour – consumer version
- Other advertising
- Press conference
- Media gatherings
- “We Care” local barbecue series
- Support of other events
- Positive PR and news releases based on above events
- Utilize ‘Key Opinion Leaders’ or other methods to disseminate positive messages
Watch next week for a special edition of Export Newsline with additional details, including when, where and how U.S. exporters can participate in these activities.