The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) Board of Directors reviewed FY2012 promotion and marketing results at their June board meeting in Madison. In the communications and local promotions area, highlights of WMMB's programs to maintain and increase the consumption of Wisconsin cheese and dairy products over the past 12 months included:

• Generating more than 1.3 billion consumer impressions across the nation with advertising and public relations activities in newspapers, magazines and online publicity messages.
  
• Supporting and sponsoring special events that showcase Wisconsin cheese and dairy products, including the eleven-day Tour of America's Dairyland bicycle racing series, Dairy Day at Miller Park and over 100 farm breakfasts and dairy events during June.
  
• Through Wisconsin Dairy Council (WDC) staff, presenting nutrition education messages to nearly 50,000 students in classrooms presentation throughout the state and participating in more than 130 radio and television interviews highlighting dairy nutrition.
  
• Providing school nutrition materials to more than 1,500 Wisconsin schools reaching more than 487,500 students.
  
• Launching the Dairy Impact Wisconsin channel on YouTube to inform consumers about how their Wisconsin cheese and dairy product purchases benefit the state (over 11,000 visitors to the channel since January).
  
• Continuing to build on the success of using websites and social media marketing to engage and inform consumers about Wisconsin's dairy industry and our cheese and dairy products. Since January, WMMB websites have had almost 1.1 million visits and online newsletters were received by more than 278,300 people. In the national retail grocery store, foodservice and food processing industry segments, WMMB's marketing and promotion activities included:
  
• Conducting more than 1,290 supermarket chain promotions and 18,500 cheese demos in major grocery stores across the country. Key supermarket chains participating in WMMB's promotions include Kroger, Supervalu, Schnucks, Walmart, Costco, Roundy's, Giant Eagle, United Markets, Whole Foods, Safeway, Sendik's, Heinen's, Wegman's, and Festival Foods.
  
• Organizing and conducting 56 foodservice, retail and culinary tours and presenting 62 cheese education seminars to key grocery buying influencers, restaurant operators and chefs.
  
• Expanding the number of Wisconsin promotions available in WMMB's "Print-On-Demand" online toolkit to 20 major themes with over a hundred custom variations that grocery stores can use on a year-round basis.
  
• Increasing Wisconsin identification on retail cheese packaging, with WMMB's Wisconsin Cheese® and Wisconsin Dairy® logos now being used on thousands of retail, foodservice and private label Wisconsin cheese, butter, ice cream, milk and cultured dairy products. Over 200 Wisconsin cheese and dairy product manufacturers and marketers participate in WMMB's brand equity program.
  
• Expanding the frozen pizza initiative with Jack's, Emil's and Luige's using Wisconsin cheese and cheese logos on packages.
  
• Continuing to build Wisconsin cheese promotions with regional and national restaurant chains such as Culvers, A&W, and Country Kitchen.
  
• Supporting the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research (CDR), which administers the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker® Program and provides research and technical assistance to state cheese and dairy processors. Fifty-two Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers have completed the program.

The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc. is a nonprofit organization funded by Wisconsin dairy farmers to promote the consumption of milk, cheese and other dairy products made in America's Dairyland. The WMMB Board of Directors is comprised of 25 dairy farmers elected to three-year terms by their peers.

06.21.2012