U.S. Pork and Beef Center Stage at Korean Jazz Festival

U.S. pork and beef barbecue was enjoyed by Korean music fans of all ages at the Jarasum International Jazz Festival

For the second straight year, U.S. pork and beef were showcased at the 11th annual Jarasum International Jazz Festival in Gapyeong County, South Korea. USMEF’s participation in the three-day event was made possible through support from the Pork Checkoff, the Beef Checkoff Program and the USDA Market Access Program (MAP).

The festival is a major arts and entertainment event in Korea, attracting musicians from around the world. USMEF hosted a large booth at the event serving both U.S. pork and beef to hungry festival goers under the slogan “World Class Jazz, World Class U.S. Meat.” To promote the American products at the event, USMEF reached out to potential customers through Facebook and the Korean social media website Kakao Story Plus.

In conjunction with the USMEF booth, two popular Korean restaurants served American-style dishes featuring a range of U.S. beef and pork cuts. Local favorite Burger B served three types of burgers, while its sister barbecue restaurant Beale Street served up heaping platters of beef brisket, pork back ribs, a pulled pork sandwich and pork sausages.

Food choices offered at the USMEF booth were branded with flags featuring U.S. pork and U.S. beef logos. Diners were also given disposable placemats with U.S. meat messages printed on them. The booth was one of the most popular at the festival, with food selling out before closing time each day of the event.

Festival attendee poses with a USMEF cowboy in a portable photo frame near the USMEF booth

“More than 250,000 people attended this tremendous music festival,” said Jihae Yang, USMEF-Korea director. “An event like this is a great opportunity to showcase ‘World Class U.S. Meat’ both from a messaging and taste-testing perspective. The long lines and happy faces are great feedback that Korean consumers are loving U.S. pork and beef.”

In addition to the great-tasting U.S. pork and beef featured at the USMEF booth, participants played a roulette game featuring a U.S. meat quiz. Questions were strategically designed to deliver key messages about U.S. pork and beef and to address misperceptions that are common among Korean consumers.

Concertgoers enjoy the show from “World Class U.S. Meat” eco-chairs provided by USMEF

Concertgoers also had the chance to get their photo taken with a USMEF “cowboy.” USMEF produced four portable photo frames featuring the “World Class Meat” slogan. Cowboys traveled the festival grounds with the photo frames and took pictures with visitors while inviting them to visit the USMEF booth to sample outstanding U.S. pork and beef.

USMEF also conducted an eco-campaign during the event and handed out branded cotton tote bags and eco-chairs with the USMEF logo. The items were free to concertgoers who became fans of USMEF on facebook and Kakao Story Plus during the festival. The giveaway was also promoted through various outreach channels sponsored by the festival itself.

Consumer feedback from the event was extremely positive. USMEF received hundreds of new fans on both Facebook and Kakao Story Plus, very positive media coverage and numerous posts from influential bloggers.