INDUSTRY MARKETING CAMPAIGN RESULTS


AHDB ‘WE EAT BALANCED’ CAMPAIGN DRIVES POSITIVE RETHINK OF RED MEAT AND DAIRY


Consumers are rethinking their attitudes towards red meat and dairy produced in Britain as a result of AHDB’s We Eat Balanced campaign launched earlier this year.


The £1.5M campaign which ran across TV, social media and print in January and February was a first for British farming. Importantly, the campaign was aimed at a target audience of meat and dairy ‘waverers’. These are not vegans or vegetarians, but people who eat meat and dairy, however are either actively or thinking about cutting back. This works out as approximately 20% of the population, around 13.6 million people.


The primary aim of the campaign was to remind and reassure consumers of the role red meat and dairy can play in a balanced diet, and the sustainability of livestock production in Britain.


Key campaign messages:


1. Red meat and dairy as a source of Vitamin B12


2. Britain has world class production standards


3. Red meat and dairy from Britain is amongst the most sustainable in the world


Results in the target audience post campaign showed that:


• 6% more consumers felt red meat could form part of a healthy, balanced diet


• 9% more consumers feel the same about dairy


• 8% more consumers see dairy as produced in both a natural and a sustainable way


• 4% more consumers see red meat as providing a range of vitamins and minerals


“We know that food and farming from Britain has a unique story to tell , so to achieve these results is a great outcome for all concerned. Many thanks to the farmers, processors, retailers, butchers and chefs who got behind the campaign. No one, to our knowledge, has ever delivered a campaign featuring these messages at this scale,” said Christine Watts, AHDB’ Chief Officer for Marketing and Exports.


CRAFT BUTCHER MAY/JUNE 2021| 5


“At a time when people are thinking about New Year diets and considering cutting out or cutting back on certain foods, it shows the impact of addressing the misinformation which is regularly served up to consumers about the role red meat and dairy can play in the diet, and the environmental sustainability of our livestock production.


“Consumers want reassurance about their food choices and are looking for permission to continue eating the foods they enjoy as part of a healthy, balanced diet”.


Growing interest and positivity towards British farming


The campaign results also seem to back up other recent research completed by AHDB which suggests that over the last year consumer attitudes toward British famers have become increasingly positive.


In 2020, a total of 66 per cent of people said they felt very or somewhat positive about British agriculture – up four per cent on the year before.


According to AHDB’s new ‘Trust in Farming and the Environment: The Consumer Perspective’ report, most view farmers positively in regard to the environment, with those who think farming in the UK has a negative impact in the minority – just 15 per cent.


The AHDB marketing team plan to build on this, with Watts commenting,


“Consumers want to hear more from farmers and how they produce our food. We’ll be taking this forward in the next stage of our industry reputation campaign which will be launched later this year.”


The We Eat Balanced campaign also showed a shift in consumer attitudes around the sustainability of red meat produced in Britain versus imported product. When prompted, there was a 9% positive shift in target audience consumers believing that home-produced red meat was produced in a more sustainable way compared to red meat from overseas.


Campaign reach


Over the course of seven weeks, We Eat Balanced generated 80 million impressions on social media, reaching ten million consumers. It also reached six million people in print and up to 17.5 million through live and on demand TV.


The advertising was rolled out against a background of continuing strong sales of meat and dairy during January. Retail volumes for total red meat were up 15.1 per cent in the 4 w/e 24 January 2021 according to Kantar and dairy also showed a strong performance, up 11.8 per cent in volume compared with last January.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32