USMEF Starts Meat Campaign to Japanese

March 18, 2002

A new U.S. campaign designed to deliver messages of safety, taste and nutrition directly to Japanese consumers was launched in Japan late last week, according to U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Philip Seng.

"We have a unique approach," said Seng, who was in Tokyo to oversee the campaign launch and to meet with members of the Japanese meat trade during Tokyo's annual FoodEx Trade Show, the largest in Asia.

"Our ads feature three American wives and mothers who share the concerns of Japanese women about the safety of food they serve their families. These three women also work in the U.S. beef industry. The first ad appeared in Japan's two leading newspapers this morning and the magazine ads and television commercials are scheduled to start next month," Seng explained.

Featured in the ads are Gina Bellinger, president of Food Safety Net Services, Inc., a food safety testing laboratory in San Antonio, TX; Leann Saunders, vice president of marketing and communications for PM Holdings, LLC, a beef processor based in Kansas City; and Abbie Nelson, an Angus seedstock producer in Sacramento, CA.

The campaign will be paid for by reprioritizing existing programs in Japan and through special contributions of beef producers through their beef checkoff, state corn and soybean checkoffs and associations, packers, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service and others in the industry who do business in Japan. With an original goal of $8 million to fund this campaign, Seng said USMEF has raised $8.389 million to enable the U.S. industry to speak directly to consumers.

Seng said the campaign approach developed by USMEF provides building blocks on which additional advertising and public relations efforts can easily be built. "Our new effort - we're calling it our 'aisareru beef,' or desire beef, campaign - will target moms with children living at home. Our immediate objective will be to generate consumer confidence in U.S. beef, then build intent to buy and use it. Longer term," Seng said, "we want U.S. beef identified as safe, nutritious, delicious and healthy."

This theme will be carried to retail outlets and restaurants through coordinated trade activities, Seng noted. "We believe strongly that science has shown beef should be part of a balanced and healthful diet," Seng said. "Our campaign, therefore, will include food education as well. We will provide science-based nutrition news to help consumers better understand the role beef plays in providing the zinc, iron, protein and B-vitamins their families need to remain strong and healthy.

"We know that Japanese housewives - just like those in America - have a responsibility to protect their family's health. But they also have the right to learn and understand facts about the beef they eat, to know how it is grown and processed, and to understand the commitment of U.S. growers and processors to beef quality and safety," Seng said.