State Beef Councils Will Continue to Prioritize Marketing to Millennials

Jerry Effertz, a North Dakota cow-calf producer, is the newly elected chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils. According to Effertz, each of the state beef councils is unique so working with the all states requires some flexibility and a broad perspective.

Effertz: "Nationally we all came at the same time in 1985, implementing it in 1986. But the how the state Beef Councils organized themselves is very unique. Frankly I think that is our asset. Not everybody is the same. Not every culture is the same and we can utilize that to promote our products and get more beef out there for the consumer."

 

Among the programs being implemented through the states and national program are ones that focus on millennials – those consumers born between about 1980 and 2000

Effertz: "Several years ago we made a strategic shift to focus in on that age group. Now that age group is a challenge. They're not the normal consumers that some of our senior citizens are. So that is a new challenge that we are facing. The good news there is that we have focused on them digitally. They are very strong digital users and our marketing techniques have really gotten up to speed using that technology."

 

Effertz says millennial consumers can be strong beef consumers – as long as the industry approaches them in thoughtful and appropriate ways.