Feb. 12 2018 08:22 AM

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board Helps Drive Holiday Cheese Sales

The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

Cheese sales increased by 23% during the month of December compared to the rest of the calendar year. The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) helped boost Wisconsin cheese sales at retail with seasonal specific marketing programs.

This December sales lift resulted in an extra 70 million pounds of cheese moving off grocery store shelves, an equivalent of 700 million pounds of milk, according to IRI data. WMMB capitalized on anticipated December cheese purchases by releasing Grate.Pair.Share. online magazine, targeting local and national media, and building custom promotions with key retailers.

Grate. Pair. Share. Magazine
The Holiday issue of Grate.Pair.Share magazine was the most successful issue to date, using seasonal recipes and gift ideas as the core content to target dairy consumers.

· The 2017 Holiday issue has seen 5.9 million impressions to date, which is a 68% increase from the previous year.

· Grate.Pair.Share highlighted unique Wisconsin specialty cheese gift sets including one from Sartori Cheese that was featured on the TODAY show in December.

· Recipe videos from the magazine were also featured on Wisconsin Cheese social channels, including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

Increased Publicity
As trends show people demanding more specialty varieties, WMMB leads the conversation by directing consumers to purchase Wisconsin specialty cheese.

· The New York Times featured Deer Creek’s The Blue Jay from the Artisan Cheese Exchange, based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

· Continued local and national media outreach also included press releases announcing the debut of the Holiday edition of Grate.Pair.Share. and an annual consumer trends release that includes Wisconsin cheese.

· In 2017, WMMB doubled media coverage value. All of WMMB’s media mentions are showcased on wisconsindairybuzz.com.

Partnering with Key Retailers
To create a nationwide custom promotion of Wisconsin cheese, WMMB partnered with key retailer Sam’s Club.

· Custom video content highlighted six brands of Wisconsin dairy products for the Sam’s Club website, where consumers could purchase it online.

· Research detailing the shopping patterns of targeted audiences helped to develop partnerships with key customers to drive retail sales for Wisconsin dairy products online and in-store.

· Wisconsin identified cheese is found in nearly 80,000 stores across the country, due in part to the programs funded by checkoff dollars.

For more information on your dairy checkoff dollars at work, visit WMMB.com or connect with the company on Facebook.

The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board is a nonprofit organization of dairy farmers that promotes the consumption of milk, cheese and other dairy products made in America’s Dairyland.