A new campaign, entitled Honest by Nature, designed to promote Irish beef in the Netherlands will be launched by Bord Bia next Monday.
The mainly digital campaign, aimed at consumers and trade buyers alike, seeks to communicate the quality, animal welfare and sustainability credentials of Irish beef whilst reassuring the Dutch retail trade that Irish beef resonates with consumers.
According to Bord Bia: “This campaign ensures the continued repositioning and further strengthens the reputation of Irish beef in the European marketplace. Building on the current strong export performance in this competitive environment requires a sustained marketing and promotional drive.”
The target audience for the campaign primarily focuses on 35-year-old to 65-year-old AB females, accounting for 12 per cent of the population, while the secondary audience includes the 20 year old to 29 year old male and female cohort.
Online
The consumer-facing elements include the launch of online touch points; the re-designed website (www.irishbeef.nl) and a new Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IrishBeefNetherlands) with videos and recipes, combined with digital newsletters.
This activity will be supported by print, broadcast and online advertising across a number of outlets.
The 90-second video clips of three farmers telling their story on Irish beef will be integrated into the irishbeef.nl website, Facebook and the digital advertising campaign.
The farmers taking part in the videos include Dan McKenna, Eamon Bourke and James Murphy, the IFA’s Sheep Committee Chairman.
Here is a preview:
In addition, exploiting and underpinning Ireland’s green image, the trade campaign will also feature an ongoing communications programme around Bord Bia’s sustainability initiative for the beef industry.
To launch the campaign, Bord Bia is hosting nine Dutch journalists with a combined readership of 1.3 million between yesterday and today in Cork for a media trip themed ‘Be an Irish beef farmer for a day’. As part of the itinerary, they will visit Ben Ryall’s beef farm in Watergrasshill, Ballymaloe House and the English Market in Cork City.
Irish Beef Exports
Ireland exported 37,000 tonnes of beef to the Netherlands in 2012, valued at €152m. The volumes were down in 2012 from 42,000 tonnes in 2011 (valued at €141m) due to a decline in beef production.
For the first half of 2013, beef exports have risen by 15 per cent to the Netherlands on the back of the recovery in supplies; from January to June 2013, beef exports reached 19,000 tonnes, worth €80m. Irish beef exports have experienced a particularly strong performance in the first half of the year with exports up by 15 per cent or €140m.
See the advertisement here: Honest by Nature