With the excitement of the 2021 holiday season just a memory, some consumers are already counting down to Christmas 2022 (only 9 months to go). Whether families hosted traditional festivities for large groups or more intimate gatherings, beef continued to be at the center of the season. 

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, inspired families to enjoy the moments that matter most with beef by providing simple “how-to’s” on selecting, preparing and serving delicious and nutritious holiday beef meals to friends and family. Thanks to additional funding from the Federation of State Beef Councils, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. television ads aired during the Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas movies, as 87% of consumers planned to watch holiday movies, including those shown on the Hallmark Channel, at home¹.

More than 125 Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. television ads ran on the Hallmark Channel during the holiday season reaching an estimated 112 million adults, with an accompanying Hallmark.com digital advertising effort that earned about 2.2 million digital impressions. Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. was also featured during the cable TV premiere of “Christmas at Castle Hart” on November 27, and 17 delicious, perfect-for-the-holidays Beef Checkoff recipes were included in Hallmark.com’s recipe listicle. 

The BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com website was decked out for the season with holiday recipes designed for every celebration. Social media included new Hanukkah content highlighting Brisket recipes, and a roasting video series on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter had a reach of 32,000 and generated 3,000 engagements. 

Online engagement also kept beef front and center during the holidays with 11 food and agriculture influencers posting content throughout December. More than 30 posts generated a reach of 933,228 and nearly 45,000 engagements. 

Beef was the focus of e-commerce efforts as well, encouraging consumers to purchase beef for holiday meals. A partnership with Sam’s Club reached more than 3 million households and brought new members to the beef category. 

Preliminary results from the holiday advertising campaign (not including Hallmark television ads) generated more than 50 million impressions, nearly 12 million views of Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. videos, 130,000 Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. website visits, and 6.6 million audio ad listens. 

The holiday campaign is a perfect example of the importance of the Beef Checkoff’s state and national partnership that NCBA has through the Federation of State Beef Councils. At the national level, NCBA, through Beef Checkoff resources, managed broadcast television, paid media, influencer communications and earned media. 

Creative assets including radio ads and video ads were also shared with state beef councils, which extended the campaign through a variety of tactics and digital platforms at a local level. Overall, the holiday campaign was a tremendous success, reaching families across the country and helping them make beef the center of the season. 

¹ Holiday Campaign Research, Dynata Platform, September 2021