Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) is a public authority organization that is a service provider for the meat and livestock industry in Australia. As such MLA promotes Australia’s meat and livestock products to consumers and businesses in more than 100 countries worldwide. In Japan, Australian Beef has been the #1 alternative to domestic beef, and “Aussie Beef” has significant brand equity in the market going back to the 1990s.
In recent years, American beef has gained market share in Japan, making it more important for MLA to: 1) engage customers with the Aussie Beef brand;
and 2) draw clear distinctions between the providence and heritage of the respective products.
Marketing Solutions
Art Direction
Branding
The solution
Australia is an aspirational destination for many consumers in Japan. The perception of Australia is spacious, natural and energetic. While the American perception in Japan is still positive – it is less rooted in this healthy heritage, creating a clear point of product differentiation.
To make this difference real to consumers in Japan, we wanted to them to do more than just buy Aussie Beef —we wanted them to imagine themselves enjoying the outdoors as well as the flavor of Australian culture.
We developed a brand and experiential campaign that leveraged digital, print, OOH ads, trade PR, and a pop-up shop/cafe to invite customers to enjoy an Australian style barbecue.
We built the campaign communication around a normal local experience — a multi-generation family dinner — set in an Australian context—a big outdoor barbecue.
The pop-up shop generated long lines of interested shoppers, instilling a deeper recognition and garnering several social media mentions. The on and offline campaign was well-received by the trade press, driving increased interest and support from Aussie Beef’s retail partners. This resulted in renewed demand from consumers.
