“Delicious American Meat, Try
It!” was the theme used by the
Denver-based U.S. Meat Export
Federation (MEF) to launch a suc
cessful ad campaign m Japan
recently.
More than 110 million Japanese
consumers, 90 percent of the popu
lace, viewed MEF television com
mercials and rpad print ads show
casing the high quality of U.S.
beef, pork and lamb. “U.S. meats
don’t have a strong identity in the
Japanese market because all
imported meat is treated the same
- genetically,” says Phil Seng,
MEF/Asian Director in Tokyo.
Designed to increase demand
for American meat in Japan, a
country with strict meat import
quotas, the ad campaign is just part
of MEF’s Targeted Export Assis
tance (TEA)* program, TEA funds
are used to promote American
farm products facing unfair trade
policies overseas.
To familiarize Japanese con
sumers about the great taste and
quality of U.S. meats, MEF
selected two themes for its ad cam
paign - “desirable/delicious” and
“why, why.” The TV commercials
US Meat Highlighted In Japanese Ad Campaign
were set to the music of “Blucbeny
Hill” and two versions were filmed
using a scenic California ranch and
an upscale San Francisco penth
ouse as backdrops.
“In a generic marketplace like
Japan, it’s necessary to create a
desirable product image,” Seng
explains. “We achieved this by
conveying the many qualities of
U.S. meat. It’s tender, low in calo
ries, nutritious and carefully
inspected.”
The U.S. meat ad campaign in
The 1987 Delmarva Broiler
Housing and Hock Supervisors’
Conference will be held Wednes
day, Sept. 16, at the Wicomico
Youth and Civic Center in Salis
bury, Md.
Sponsored by the Delmarva
Poultry Industry, Inc., in coopera
tion with the University of Dela
ware and the University of Mary
land, the annual conference will
open at 7:15 a.m. with registration,
coffee and donuts, and exhibits.
Ventilation management will be
Delmarva Poultry
Japan was MEF’s first. Survey
results compiled by Nikkei Busi
ness, a highly respected Japanese
business magazine, ranked the
MEF ads an impressive sixth out of
270 entries. Competition was
tough, including notable firms
such as Sony, Hitachi and Ameri
can Airlines.
According to Seng, the Japanese
market holds tremendous potential
for U.S. meat exports. By the year
2000, he estimates annual sales
may top $2 billion, up from current
sales of $4BO million. A Japanese
the subject of the first session,
starting at 8 a.m. At 10:30 a.m., a
communication session will be
held.
Following a noon lunch, the
Delmarva Servicemen’s Associa
tion scholarship and the Broiler
and Breeder Flock Supervisors’
awards will be presented. A panel
on early brooding management
will begin at 1:35 p.m., featuring
representatives from Virginia
Tech, University of Maryland,
Purdue Farms and Townsends,
consumer now eats less than 10
pounds of beef per year, compared
to 78 pounds for an average
American. Despite the higher price
of beef in Japan, this difference in
consumption is not stricdy a ques
tion of money or demand. Per capi
ta income in Japan is higher than in
the U.S. The biggest obstacle to
greater beef consumption is the
Japanese government’s own restr
ictions on meat imports, notes
Seng.
MEF research also shows that
Managers To
Inc.
The panel will be followed by a
session on biosecurity at 3:30 p.m.
The final session on manure man
agement will begin at 4 p.m.
A fellowship hour will be held
from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The deadline for registration is
Sept. 4. The $25 per person
registration fee covers all sessions,
a copy of the proceedings, lunch
and the coffee and donuts. Checks
payable to Delmarva Poultry
Industry, Inc. should be mailed to
Japanese consumers are not aware
of differences in imported meats
because their government doesn’t
distinguish one from the other.
“The recent infusion of TEA funds
has allowed us to explain the bene
fits of U.S. meal directly to the
Japanese consumer,” says Seng.
“It’s important we continue this
educational process now that the
Japanese beef trade negotiations
are heating up.” He adds that
Japanese beef quotas expire in
March 1988.
Meet
George Chaloupka, Extension
Specialist, R.D. #2, Box 48,
Georgetown, DE 19947.
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