Keeping Your Marketing Current

Can you name "The Other White Meat?" If "pork" immediately comes to mind, then, like nine out of 10 consumers, you've been reached by one of the most effective repositioning campaigns of all time. It began in the late 1980s, when diet and fitness became essential to consumers seeking healthier lifestyles. Pork producers were making changes in response to demand for a leaner, higher-quality product, but few people knew about it. Poultry sales were climbing, and there was a more than 20 percent decline in sales of pork products.

To align with consumers' new eating habits and attitudes, the National Pork Board launched the "Pork: The Other White Meat" campaign, which showcased pork's convenience and nutritional benefits. By 1996, nearly 90 percent of consumers surveyed recognized the slogan-up from 64 percent just four years prior. Based on attitudinal research, new print,TV and Internet campaigns were launched in 2000, and the slogan was named the fifth most memorable tagline in contemporary advertising by Northwestern University. Today, since the start of the campaign, pork production has increased nearly 40 percent, and pork is now the most-eaten meat in the world.