One of the products for which Iowa is known globally is changing its identity. The Des Moines-based National Pork Board is launching a new campaign under the slogan, “Pork. Be Inspired.”
Ceci Snyder, the board’s vice president of marketing, says the new motto represents a shift in the target audience.
“We’re really going after a different group of consumers than we have in the past,” Snyder says. “It’s people that love our product. It’s a small segment of the population but they eat the majority of pork. About a third the population eats about 70% of fresh pork at home. It’s a very committed customer.”
The previous slogan, “Pork, The Other White Meat,” has been around some 25 years, Snyder says, but it’s not being abandoned as it transmits a “lean” message.
“We’re using it in nutrition communications to talk about how it’s a lot leaner than people think,” Snyder says. “It’s not going away but it’s not the emotional connection that we want with consumers to increase sales so we needed to move it up a notch and we went with a more emotional campaign. ‘The Other White Meat’ is still around but we’re going to use it where it’s most effective.” She says pork sales have been flat domestically for many years, but exports are rising.
“We’ve known we needed to make a change and took the time to do it right,” Snyder says. “‘The Other White Meat’ is very well known so we wanted to protect that awareness in consumers’ minds. We were told by producers that it’s time to make some changes, get more connected with consumers and definitely increase sales.”
There’s a new website to go with the new slogan: www.porkbeinspired.com.