A new campaign aimed at building interest in REAL Seal through social media launched this month, which, using Facebook, blogs and digital advertising, allows consumers to learn the benefits of American-made dairy products.
According to the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the group’s revamped Facebook page and blogger outreach is aimed to engage and cultivate target audiences, especially moms and heads of households.
The page’s content includes interactive updates, multimedia presentations, contests, polls and quizzes. Entrants also can suggest names for a new animated cartoon character.
“The advent of social media has changed how brands relate to consumers,” says Jim Mulhern, chief operating officer of NMPF, which has leased the branding icon from the United Dairy Industry Association and is spearheading the revitalization.
“Today, there is a much greater expectation for transparency and engagement across the consumer packaged goods chain," he said. "The REAL Seal allows dairy companies to define themselves amid a sea of imitators, and the new seal will also enable companies to utilize it as a country of origin label, which itself connotes important values.”
Mulhern said that the marketing environment has changed dramatically in the 30 years since the Seal became a national icon, and that NMPF’s efforts to work with dairy processors to use the seal must harness new tools to reach consumers.
The challenge will be to use social media and other digital outreach efforts to remind older consumers of what the seal means, and to educate a new generation to look for the icon on packages.
“The marketplace has become crowded by products packaged to look like dairy products, depicted as dairy products, even using the common names of dairy products, but that aren’t real dairy,” he said. “Foods made from grains, vegetables, plants and nuts and have usurped dairy designations like milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and the use of the REAL Seal can help us reclaim some of dairy’s traditional portfolio.”
Starting in July, a special Buyer’s Guide section will be added to the website, where consumers will be able to find foods and restaurants that use REAL dairy products. Users also have the option of providing links to their own company’s website. PD
—From National Milk Producers Federation news release
