Giving the Industry Guidance.
No one can tell the meat industry’s story better than someone who has actually lived it. Midan Marketing leads the conversation by bringing together unparalleled experience and deep understanding of what motivates today’s meat consumers.
Blog
Brand Awareness vs. Conversion
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
A common conversation I find myself engaged in lately revolves around where a brand’s marketing strategy should focus: awareness or conversion. Understanding the balance between them and when to focus on which one can have a significant impact on your bottom line. ...
5 Reasons to Keep Educating Consumers
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
With age comes wisdom. That is the proverbial saying, right? I'd like to believe it now that I am um... well, now that I have more experience! Perhaps the saying should be With experience, comes wisdom. This month Midan Marketing turns 20! Since we consider ourselves...
Learning From the Olympics: Lessons for the Meat Industry
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
I love the Summer Olympics. I love hearing the background stories about the athletes, learning of the sacrifice their families make for them to become the best at their sport. I love the suspense of the medal battle that happens when the world’s best congregate in one...
You Are Not Your Target Audience
by Danette Amstein | Branding
If you are a packer/processor, when is the last time you did a store check through the eyes of the consumer? I am talking about standing in front of a retail meat case and really looking at your branded items — not from your perspective of everything that goes into...
The Sustainability Conversation
by Danette Amstein | Sustainability
How to Impact the Sustainability Conversation in the Social Space If you have been reading my blog posts for any length of time, you know I am passionate about the subject of sustainability and how consumers perceive it, especially when it comes to eating meat. To...
Takeaways From CattleCon 2024
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Beef by the numbers, and good beef sustainability – my top takeaways from CattleCon 2024 Given my background, my passion and my personal “why,” few things make me happier than arriving at a conference filled with cowboy hats, jeans and boots – worn by the “real...
How AI is Shaking Up the Meat and Marketing Industries – Part 2
by Danette Amstein | Technology
(This is Part 2 of a two-part blog series. You can find Part 1 here.) In Part 1 of this blog I shared a headline exercise we did to show how AI can assist with marketing efforts. Below is the continuation of this theme, this time focused on art generation and the...
How AI is Shaking Up the Meat and Marketing Industries – Part 1
by Danette Amstein | Technology
(This is Part 1 of a two-part blog series. You can find Part 2 here.) December is always a great time to reflect on the past 12 months and how things have changed. I like to take a moment to look back on the trends from the year and consider what will move us into the...
4 Things Marketers Can Learn From Crop Harvesting
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Lessons from our family’s farm playbook — passed down by the generations before me Every summer, I leave my day job as managing principal of a full-service marketing agency to help with wheat harvest on my family’s farm in Kansas. As the sixth-generation farmer to be...
Tomorrow’s Meat Industry: Generation Z
by Danette Amstein | Trends
Every company has an interest in being future-focused - thinking about upcoming generations and how they will shape not only the world, but that company’s future. Both the meat and marketing industries have had their eye on Generation Z for some time now. The...
Omnichannel Marketing: Crafting Consistent Experiences for Maximum Impact
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Omnichannel marketing: There’s a reason why you’re hearing more and more about it – it’s a smart strategy that can lead to big payoffs. The goal of omnichannel marketing is to provide customers with a consistent and seamless experience with your brand, no matter where...
Leveraging Social Media for Business Success
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Over the last decade we’ve all had a front row seat to the evolution of social media from essentially a digital toy for teenagers into a tool that is integral for business success. It has been interesting to watch how much more open the meat industry, particularly...
The Power of Consumer Segmentation
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Have you ever watched an ad or a short video and been perplexed, or even said out loud, “I don’t get it.” Happens to me a lot, especially during live sporting events. The reason I don’t get it is that I am not the target for what is being advertised. Frequent readers...
5 Learnings From the AMC Social Influencer Panel
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
In March, I had the honor of hosting a panel at the Annual Meat Conference highlighting how brands and retailers can use influencer marketing to create loyalty and drive sales. The panel included Jess Pryles, meat influencer and owner of Hardcore Carnivore; Melissa...
4 Takeaways From USRSB General Assembly
by Danette Amstein | Sustainability
In recent years, the meat industry’s sustainability conversation has evolved from “what do we do about sustainability” to “how do we measure and report our sustainability progress.” As we move into this next phase of our sustainability journey, the United States...
Build Greater Consumer Trust Through Influencer Marketing
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Influencer marketing. If you hang out at all on social media you have swiped through posts where someone is confidently sharing a product or service they believe in. Some of you are utilizing this marketing tactic in your marketing plans. Influencer marketing is...
Top Takeaways From 2023 CattleCon
by Danette Amstein | Trends
In February, I had the privilege of traveling with a few of my colleagues to the 2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show held in New Orleans. I had the privilege of speaking as part of Cattlemen’s College. We attended sessions, walked the showroom floor...
Sustainability: pushing back on, through and forward in 2023
by Danette Amstein | Sustainability
As I look back on 2022, I think about the things that have pushed me this year and things I pushed. Sustainability falls into both categories. As I look forward to 2023, I find myself contemplating what things are going to push the meat industry. Certainly inflation,...
Get to Know Gen Z Beef Shoppers
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
In late August I had the privilege of tagging along with my daughter and her roommate as they went grocery shopping, preparing to start another semester at NYU. I was happy to come along as mom, but also excited to watch the process unfold as a marketer eager to see...
Why 21 Is the New 7
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Most of us have heard the adage that you have to repeat something seven times before it really sticks. From a marketing lens, that’s old news. In today’s landscape where ads, emails and content, content, content seep into every part of our lives, researchers say that...
How Marketing Can Help You Weather Tough Economic Times
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Inflation. Supply chain issues. Labor shortages. Drought. War. Soaring fuel and food prices. Interest rate hikes. And now worries about a recession on the horizon. Unfortunately, we have been here before. But many of us were too young to understand previous economic...
This is What Sustainability Looks Like
by Danette Amstein | Sustainability
Last month I had the opportunity to attend the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) General Assembly meeting. The day before the meeting, a group of attendees boarded a bus at dawn for a sustainable ag tour. I always jump at the chance to see agriculture in...
Ad Nauseam
by Danette Amstein | Sustainability
Last week I had the honor of attending and speaking at the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef’s (USRSB) General Assembly meeting. This conference is a true roundtable, bringing together the entire beef supply chain for frank conversations about how to improve upon...
Now is the Time to Optimize Your Share of Stomach, Heart, Wallet
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
These days you can’t talk about meat without mentioning inflation — and many of those conversations center around consumers cutting back on meat. So, what’s the cost to packer/processors who don’t maintain their share of consumers’ stomachs, hearts and wallets? The...
TikTok: Is Now the Time for the Meat Industry to Embrace It?
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
If a Gen Z attended your recent family gatherings, odds are there was at least one conversation about a video on TikTok. Users on other social media platforms often say that TikTok is, “a talent show for people who have no talent.” It’s a funny line but TikTok is no...
How to Combat Three Critical Threats to Your Meat Business in 2022
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Stop me if you’ve heard this — and I know you have, because I say it all the time to anyone listening: As a meat processor, your biggest concern is NOT other meat producers. In fact, they could be your best allies in a shared struggle to combat the biggest threats...
How Video Creates the Authentic Storytelling Today’s Consumers Crave
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Our brains are wired to create real connections with the help of storytelling. And telling your brand’s story is critical to future success. It is that big of a deal. (I’m so passionate about this topic that I find myself blogging about it often here on Meatingplace.)...
Today’s Consumers Can’t Separate Animal Welfare From Sustainability
by Danette Amstein | Sustainability
It seems most things are complicated these days, not least among them: Sustainability. While we assume the term "sustainability" is now synonymous with “the environment,” we need to take a step back. It turns out the key to unlock the credibility of the meat...
Four keys to win over Gen Zs
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
College recruiting is an interesting genre of marketing. I am not talking about the recruitment of athletes but of scholars. For the past year I have been on the parent side of this, fascinated by the marketing efforts that went into capturing my daughter’s attention....
Carbon Footprint: The on-pack label you didn’t know you needed
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Sustainability. Ask 10 consumers to define sustainability for the meat they buy and you will get 10 different answers. Yet, all major processors and most retailers and foodservice operators have set goals for it, establishing future finish lines where they can proudly...
Antibiotics provide opportunity for industry to re-educate consumers
by Danette Amstein | Transparency/Traceability
Antibiotics have been part of meat production for decades. Today, they have become a source of controversy and, for some consumers, fear. In 1999, Chipotle became one of the first restaurants to tout that it sold meat from animals never given antibiotics. By 2017,...
Is the meat industry playing David to alt-protein’s Goliath?
by Danette Amstein | Alt-Meat
I’m not a fan of plant-based “meat” products. So, as a marketer, it pains me to give them marketing credit for convincing people — our consumers — that their product is healthier and better for the environment. When protein becomes anything other than “real meat” in...
Sustainability: It Has Never Been Just a Buzzword for Ranchers
by Danette Amstein | Sustainability
Farmers and ranchers are the original environmentalists. Most are hard core. Often, though, consumers don’t realize it because those working the land and caring for our livestock day in and day out aren’t focused on specific things like reducing our greenhouse gas...
How does ‘kitchen fatigue’ steer consumers’ meat choices?
by Danette Amstein | COVID-19
As the pandemic slogs on, I find myself tired of being in the kitchen. Really, really tired of it. Life before COVID-19 included a lot of weeknight activities, and with them great opportunities (and excuses!) to eat out. I don’t have any of those right now. Haven’t...
The vultures are circling: Address negative perceptions of the meat industry now
by Danette Amstein | COVID-19
Shock. Fear. Panic. Frustration. These emotions have been coursing through Americans since mid-March and have been especially acute for those of us in the meat business. I know I experienced the first two, then was too busy supporting crisis communication to ever have...
5 things you should demand from your sales partner
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
For most of the country an in-person sales call is a faint memory. We all went into lockdown in March assuming it was going to last only a few weeks. Now, here we are getting ready to flip the calendar to a new year and we’re still waiting to resume in-person...
Meat Consumer Shifts Creating Prime Opportunities
by Danette Amstein | COVID-19
The pandemic has made an indelible imprint on American behavior: We don’t socialize the same way, we don’t work the same way, we don’t shop the same way. And we definitely haven’t been consuming meat like we did before COVID-19. As Anne-Marie Roerink has been...
How COVID-19 has upped the stakes for meat branding
by Danette Amstein | COVID-19
I have made only three trips to the grocery store since the pandemic hit in mid-March. At first, I resorted to Instacart because two family members had potentially been exposed to COVID-19 and we were self-quarantining. When I started, Instacart through Publix was the...
Meat Marketing During COVID: Don’t Go Dark Now
by Danette Amstein | COVID-19
COVID-19 has created a climate of incredible uncertainty for companies and brands. Because it’s obviously not a time for “business as usual,” it’s natural to wonder if you should pull back on marketing. You might be thinking: “I don’t want to appear insensitive during...
Self-Quarantine Reflections: Two Action Steps for the Meat Industry
by Danette Amstein | COVID-19
Like you I am trying to wrap my head around what has transpired in the last week because of COVID-19. I am writing this on Sunday afternoon – Day #8 of our family’s self-quarantine. Why? Because my husband and daughter were in NYC when things got crazy. When they...
Want year-end success? Re-evaluate your plan now
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
“So, how did that work out?” This is a question my grandmother used to ask me with her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised. You can guess the “I-told-you-so” tone. It was always after I had failed miserably at something I claimed I knew how to do. Nanny — as all...
Plant-based meat: Resolve to keep it real in 2020
by Danette Amstein | Alt-Meat
Happy 2020! It is time to make our new year’s resolutions – not the kind we have completely forgotten by Jan. 31, but rather those that create new habits with better outcomes. For many Americans, the gluttony of Christmas cookies and eggnog leads to a resolution...
Beam me up, Siri: What voice-assisted search means for the meat business
by Danette Amstein | Technology
A weeklong business trip in November uncovered a shocking revelation: Siri has become my new BFF. I asked her for the weather each morning, the location of the closest gas station and directions to a restaurant. I had her text my husband while I was getting ready for...
There are two sides to every story; help tell ours
by Danette Amstein | Alt-Meat
Every September we shut down Midan Marketing for four days and gather in one spot for our annual team meeting. This year our team descended on Tulsa, Okla. Our gathering always includes a day visiting places that help us educate our team members who do not have an ag...
Helping meat make the grade in college
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
In the last month, nearly 19 million students packed their bags and headed off to college. My son was one of them; he was starting his sophomore year. Because he was moving into a house with two other young men versus the dorm, I found myself adding cooking supplies...
If your meat product doesn’t have a story you might as well dig a hole
by Danette Amstein | Branding
This spring I was on the road six out of eight weeks, which is a lot for me. I attended three conferences and led a couple of strategy and planning sessions. I met amazing people and heard incredible stories – both personal and how businesses fought to overcome, scale...
One game-changing thing consumers are doing processors must address
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Recently I was asked a question that has kept my wheels turning: What is the one thing processors must address to keep consumers coming back, purchasing more and more meat? Wow – I’m limited to one thing? I had to ponder this for a while. Interestingly, it turns out...
Social media reviews can help meat processors win B2B customers
by Danette Amstein | Omnichannel
I have been thinking a lot lately about word-of-mouth and the need for the meat industry to lean into the social space where our customers and consumers are hanging out. If you don’t have a strategy for communicating in the social spaces, it is time to identify...
2018 Meat Industry Headlines
by Danette Amstein | Trends
Wow, what a year! Change. Growth. Success. 2018 had it all. Let’s take a minute to recap the themes of this year’s biggest meat industry stories. And look ahead to see how they’ll shape 2019. 1. Positioning Protein Alternatives: Protein alternatives (including the...
AMC 2018 Top 10
by Danette Amstein | Trends
At Annual Meat Conference (AMC) 2018, digital dominated. How today’s meat consumers are using digital to plan, purchase and prepare meals was the unifying theme that coursed through nearly every session. As always, the Midan team was on the scene to sift through all...
At Midan, What We Do Is Who We Are
by Danette Amstein | Marketing
Happy New Year! It’s only the second week of 2018, but some of us (no names mentioned!) might already be wavering on those ambitious resolutions we made to do more of “this” and less of “that” in the coming year. While the new year offers a chance to start fresh, it’s...
Top Meat Industry Headlines of 2017
by Danette Amstein | Trends
Oh 2017—what a news-filled, exciting year you have been! Here at Midan we work hard to stay on top of news and trends in the meat industry. As this year wraps up, I wanted to reflect with you on some of 2017’s prominent trends that we believe will impact 2018. The...
Midan’s Reaction to Chain Reaction: Quick Facts on Antibiotic Use in Livestock
by Danette Amstein | Transparency/Traceability
Mainstream media outlets swallowed up the subjective content of the recently published Chain Reaction III study, evoking fear and panic among consumers. The report wants consumers and investors to pressure the top 25 fast food and fast casual restaurants to move to...