PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- The year 2007 and so far 2008 have been exceptional years for the egg industry and the American Egg Board. Though egg prices have fallen somewhat since Easter, the egg industry continues to experience profitability with sustained high egg prices. Many factors have contributed to the high egg prices, but certainly one of those factors is the continuing success of AEB's marketing programs.
AEB has implemented a very comprehensive 360 degree communications approach to reach consumers through a variety of media -- TV, radio, print, billboards and truck signs. We are also seizing the infinite opportunities of promoting on the Internet. 2007 was the first year that AEB's media mix included an online component. Continuing its aggressive strategy to promote The incredible edible egg, AEB is conducting a variety of communications efforts on two of the more popular food sites on the web -- WeightWatchers.com and FoodNetwork.com.
WeightWatchers.com has created a variety of custom elements unique to AEB, including a section specifically dedicated to eggs with links to egg recipes, egg facts, nutritional information, egg games and a lot more. In addition to its efforts on WeightWatchers.com, AEB is again working with FoodNetwork.com after a successful partnership in 2007. FoodNetwork.com is the most popular site on the web for recipes, receiving more than 40 million visitors in March alone. AEB's online media plan includes Yahoo!, Wild Tangent (a gaming site), rachaelrayshow.com and Google.com.
The AEB-sponsored "Incredible People" segment on the increasingly popular "Rachael Ray" show is off to a fast start. The segment spotlights everyday viewers who are working to help kids and families eat more healthy meals and are chosen to share their healthy ways with Rachael Ray during her show. Through the "Incredible People" segment, as well as on the www.rachaelrayshow.com web site, AEB receives strong visual and verbal branding for The incredible edible egg. It is a great time to promote the eggstraordinary nutritional benefit of eggs! Today, there's a vast amount of positive information available on egg nutrition, including: the highest quality protein of any food you can buy and incorporating the benefits of egg protein in weight-loss diets; nutrient density for those of all ages who need to get essential nutrients without excess calories; choline for fetal brain development in pregnant women; lutein and zeaxanthin to ward off cataracts and age-related macular degeneration; and the overall natural nutrition of eggs. In addition, eggs are convenient, versatile, and economical -- even at today's higher prices -- for today's harried cooks. These are the current key messages that AEB is conveying to consumers through its aggressive public relations and educational programs.
Breakfast is the fastest-growing daypart in the foodservice channel, and it shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, more than 30 million people eat breakfast out every day, and spending at breakfast is increasing 8 percent annually. AEB is partnering with the major chains to help continue this growth trend. One recent success is with Panera Bread, a leading quick-service restaurant chain that rolled out a new line of egg sandwiches this spring. Created in conjunction with American Egg Board, Panera will serve three grilled breakfast egg sandwiches promoting "all-natural eggs cracked each morning." As a result of AEB's work with the major restaurant chains, the egg industry will enjoy hundreds of millions additional eggs sold in the foodservice channel within the next few years.
And don't forget May is National Egg Month -- another excellent opportunity to promote the virtues of the egg. Traditionally, egg demand drops off following Passover and Easter, hence the celebration of National Egg Month in May. AEB has organized national and local publicity programs for the consumer press to remind consumers of all the benefits and exceptional protein value that The incredible edible egg has to offer.
May is also an "eggcellent" time to promote eggs in the foodservice market. The foodservice promotion of National Egg Month began early in the year with a series of press releases directed to the national foodservice publications. The press releases suggested a number of egg menu ideas that could be served during May. Also, the March issue of AEB's Eggscetera to food operators promoted National Egg Month. It recommended that the web site be consulted for additional recipe ideas for this seasonal promotion.
But wait, there's more. All of this extra Egg Month promotion is going on concurrently with AEB's regular promotions as well as with new initiatives as opportunities arise for the egg industry.
Research shows that most young people do not know how to cook. This presents another excellent opportunity for AEB to educate consumers about the basics of egg cooking and to arm them with real solutions to help them put eggs on their everyday menus. Last year, AEB launched "The Search for America's Worst Cook" program. Preparation for year two of the contest is well underway. The contest officially launched on April 29 when Howard Helmer announced it during a satellite media tour from Chicago. To commemorate the launch of the contest, Helmer spoke with news anchors in cities across the country, highlighting easy-to-prepare and affordable egg dishes, while encouraging viewers to enter the contest. As you would expect, the television producers and anchors LOVED Howard and his enthusiasm for eggs!
The web site, www.AmericasWorstCook.com, contains new recipes and cooking tips from Helmer. Other online components of the contest include a partnership with a YouTube "star" Remy to create multiple web videos to promote the contest, including a customizable video that consumers can pass along to friends and family. The videos are available on YouTube.com, as well as on the America's Worst Cook web site. Once America's Worst Cook is found, she/he will be sent on an all-expenses-paid trip to a New York cooking school for a culinary makeover.
However, on a not so positive note, 2008 will be a challenging year for the egg industry as we continue to be aggressively confronted by animal activists in actions that besiege the state November elections. Since this negative animal welfare publicity could affect the demand for our product, AEB has developed a comprehensive production education DVD program, Eggs 101: A Video Project, to educate young consumers of the good husbandry practices of the egg industry. This program has been distributed to high schools and all public libraries nationwide. AEB has also reserved significant funds to create a campaign to educate consumers of current egg production practices in states hardest hit with these attacks.
This is just a short summary of the NEW AEB's marketing initiatives. AEB has maximized its current modest budget to attain the greatest "bang" for producers' dollars. Because of inflation and the challenges facing the egg industry, there is so much more that AEB should and could do on producers' behalf if there were additional funding.
Based on a recommendation of an Industry Exploratory Committee, the board approved a motion to request USDA to conduct a referendum on an assessment increase from 10 cents to 15 cents per case. In the coming months, AEB will be sharing the marketing results and return on producers' investment after the first year of the implementation of its 2008 Strategic Plan that will also justify the need for additional funding.
The board announced that it plans to schedule a Strategic Planning Meeting this spring to provide input and direction into the development of AEB's 2009 Strategic Plan. Program measurements will be a significant segment of the 2009 plan -- as it was with the 2008 plan -- providing accountability and evaluation of AEB initiatives to ensure that producers' dollars are being used resourcefully and effectively. The Strategic Plan provides AEB staff with a detailed tactical plan for implementing a strong, effective marketing program that enables egg producers to witness their return on investment in the American Egg Board. The NEW AEB's second year will be even better than the first!
Joanne C. Ivy is president & CEO of the American Egg Board with offices in Park Ridge, Ill.
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