Of all the things people debate online, it turns out there are strong opinions on how to butter toast. Some folks say to use a butter spreader. Others say room-temperature butter spread on hot toast is easy, simple and delicious. While another group has gone as far as using a microplane to shave cold butter onto hot toast.
Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) helps fund the Go Bold With Butter marketing campaign managed by the American Butter Institute (ABI). It’s a way to get consumers talking about real dairy, specifcally butter.
The #butteredtoastcontest idea came when our teams started chatting about the best way to make buttered toast. It may seem straightforward, but we turned to the public for their ideas.
The contest generated 537 entries! It was obvious we had tapped into the ultimate dairy debate. People love real butter on their toast and we loved the enthusiasm, so we partnered with the checkoff’s social media influencers to keep the conversation going.
Another promotion involved butter bombs during the summer grilling season. Butter isn’t always associated with grilling, but butter bombs are fun, easy to make and add flavor to your favorite grilling recipes. DMI and ABI created butter bomb inspiration videos to share on social media, which were viewed more than 2.89 million times.
Go Bold with Butter also promoted recipes using butter and other dairy ingredients on Pinterest. These recipes led to more than 20,000 clicks to the Go Bold with Butter website.
There clearly is an appetite for butter – no pun intended. Year-round, butter makes our favorite dishes more delicious, but is there anything better than holiday cookies made with real butter?
I have the very enjoyable job of judging holiday cookie submissions for Go Bold with Butter.
Each fall, Go Bold with Butter hosts a holiday cookie contest with consumers and typically sees around 1,000 entries. ABI narrows the entries to the top finalists, bakes the cookies from the submitted recipes and mails them to the judges (a really tough job!). We assess ease of the baking process, evaluate the amount of dairy used and, of course, judge the flavor.
The winning entries are featured at goboldwithbutter.com and across the checkoff’s social media channels. The 2022 winning entry garnered more than 34,000 website clicks – that’s a lot of interest in buttery, delicious holiday cookies!
We’re still tallying the 2023 metrics but have again seen great interest across online spaces where the recipes have been shared.
You can check out the 2023 winning entry and Undeniably Dairy Judge’s Choice winner (aka the entry that uses the most dairy) on Go Bold with Butter’s website.
No matter the season, your dairy checkoff team is working to promote real dairy. While there are many online debates, we think discussing the best way to butter toast or how to add more butter to your cookies are some of the most productive.
