Telling the Beef Story
ANCW educational workshop teaches cattlewomen how to share beef's positive story with consumers and youth in their home states.
by Kindra Gordon for Angus Productions Inc.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 2, 2012) — The American National CattleWomen (ANCW) hosted a special educational workshop Feb. 2 for their members attending the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, Tenn. Led by Sarah Bohnenkamp, manager of ANCW’s Telling the Beef Story efforts, the workshop was designed to help provide cattlewomen with a better knowledge of how to share the attributes of beef with consumers and youth in their home states.
Bohnenkamp shared findings from the most recent Consumer Beef Index conducted in 2011. The survey showed that only 28.5% of consumers agree with the statement that the positives of beef strongly outweigh the negatives.
She pointed to that statistic as an opportunity for cattlewomen to help better inform those consumers about the industry. Bohnenkamp shared that when consumers attended an educational event hosted by a beef speaker, the 28.5% statistic was increased to 60% of consumers saying they strongly believe the positives of beef outweigh the negatives.
“Moving opinions only takes small steps and can have big impacts,” she observed.
Bohnenkamp also cited research that indicates 74% of consumers say they are interested in learning more about agriculture, and 87% of consumers trust the information from a friend more than the information in an ad. Thus, she said, the role of “grassroots” cattlewomen is important and powerful.
Bohnenkamp offered these tips to help engage consumers in the beef story:
- Listen to your audience. Ask questions to gauge what they want to know. Then tailor your message to give them that information.
- Keep it simple and short. She notes it’s important to hold your message to a few key points that consumers will remember.
- Focus on improvement. Bohnenkamp says consumers want to know about efforts to care for the land and livestock, so it’s important to share stories of how you are continually improving the care of these resources.
- Be yourself. She concludes that people like to know personal stories about what farmers and ranchers do and why. So she encourages telling those stories to help build personal connections with consumers.
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