In partnership with Sam’s Club and the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS), the beef checkoff is kicking off a summer grilling BBQ tour. The American GrillMaster Experience, a beef BBQ demonstration and educational tour, will include beef grilling demonstrations, product samples, recipes and other checkoff resources designed to educate and inform consumers on grilling techniques. In total, 18 events will take place in the parking lots of Sam’s Clubs locations in 17 states from June through October.
“Mobile sampling and demonstration tours are fast becoming one of the most effective marketing platforms in America today. Savvy consumers demand to see, try, taste and experience products for themselves before they make purchase decisions,” says Jane Frost, vice chair of the checkoff’s Joint Retail Committee and (segment) from San Jon, N.M. “Connecting with consumers through promotional sampling in a fun and exciting environment proves to be one of the best ways to engage our target audience, promote our beef products and drive home our promotional messages that keep beef in the minds and in the shopping carts of our consumers.”
In 2010, Sam’s Club launched a pilot competitive BBQ program and became the first major retailer to host official KCBS-sanctioned competitive events. The events were extremely popular, and Sam’s Club soon became the official supplier of the Kansas City Barbeque Society.
From that 2010 pilot program, the Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour was born. The inaugural tour kicked off in spring 2011 and has quickly grown into the largest competitive BBQ series in America. The checkoff-sponsored GrillMaster events run in conjunction with Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour.
“This tour provides the checkoff with a unique and fun opportunity to showcase beef cuts that perform great on the grill at a variety of price points, while engaging directly with consumers,” says Frost. “Another important aspect to this partnership is that through coordination with our state beef councils and possibly National Beef Ambassadors, a ‘beef team’ will be on hand to pass along recipes, cooking tips and other materials designed to educate and inform the thousands of grill enthusiasts throughout the summer.”
Click here for more information and a complete tour schedule.
For more information about other beef checkoff retail and promotional efforts, visit BeefRetail.org. For more information about your beef checkoff, in general, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Source: The Beef Checkoff Program