RFA Ethanol Podcast

Summer Pork Campaign

Cindy Zimmerman

wpx13-npb-novakAt World Pork Expo this week, National Pork Board officials unveiled a new summer campaign for consumers to encourage them to save with pork cuts, grill them like steak, and learn some new names for pork cuts.

“The current consumer campaign, Pork. Be inspired®, is moving product at the retail meat case and in restaurants,” says Chris Novak, National Pork Board CEO. “In the first quarter of this year, total pounds of pork sold at retail were up 9.9 percent over first quarter last year and total dollars in sales were up 4.7 percent. Average retail price was down due to higher supplies, but the increased volume more than offset the decrease in average price.”

wpx13-npb-prezTo further bolster consumer demand, a new summer marketing campaign was launched this week to communicate the current relative value of pork, educate consumers on the new pork cut names and reinforce proper pork cooking by talking about the ideal range of doneness.

In April, the National Pork Board rolled out new names for some traditional cuts of pork as a way to address the lack of consumer understanding of pork cuts and how to prepare them.

Based on extensive consumer research, the new cut names were selected to enhance value in the meat cuts and new simplified labels were developed to better explain proper cooking techniques.

“This does mean we’ll have to say goodbye to names like ‘pork butt’,” says Karen Richter, National Pork Board president and pork producer from Montgomery, Minn. “But we believe consumers will feel more confident in their ability to choose and prepare pork that provides great flavor and versatility at a budget-friendly price.”

The new porterhouse pork chop, ribeye pork chop and New York pork chop are featured in the summer marketing campaign being promoted through national radio and online advertising, food media spokespersons and social media engagement. As a part of the campaign, consumers will be able to tap into online coupons that have proven effective in driving visitor traffic to pork-focused consumer websites.

Listen to comments from Richter and Novak here: Pork Board New Campaign

2013 World Pork Expo photo album.

Audio, Pork, World Pork Expo