USMEF Launches Winter Pork Campaign in Japan

Advertisements raise the profile of U.S. pork during the high-demand holiday season

To build momentum for U.S. pork sales in Japan, USMEF has launched a campaign that coincides with the high-demand holiday and year-end season. The promotional event is a joint activity with the California Wine Association and Suntory, the largest wine and liquor manufacturer in Japan. Support for the campaign is provided by the Pork Checkoff and the USDA Market Access Program (MAP).

The promotion is being executed in two parts. A prize giveaway allows consumers who purchase U.S. pork products at participating retailers to be entered to win one of 300 gift baskets featuring U.S. pork and Suntory’s “Carnivor” – a full-bodied red wine. For this part of the promotion, USMEF developed special point of purchase materials including banners and posters for in-store use. USMEF also teamed with Moranbong, one of the largest seasoning manufacturers in Japan, to develop a special demi-glace sauce that is being marketed with U.S. pork in store displays.

The USMEF-Japan website has a daily calendar for contest participants

The second part of the promotion is being conducted online, where visitors to the USMEF website can enter to win a U.S. pork gift basket. Consumers who tweet about the promotion can then apply to win twice a day, and the website has a special page that records their day-by-day participation in the contest. Consumers can also see U.S. pork preparation tips and recipes including U.S. pork butt stewed with red wine, pork back ribs stewed with white wine, spicy pork back ribs, roast pork and pork belly stewed in a Chinese cooking style.

“We are looking forward to continuing to increase sales of U.S. pork in Japan as we head toward the end of 2014,” said Takemichi Yamashoji, USMEF-Japan senior marketing director. “These promotional events are generating a strong response, and it is great to see Japanese consumers excited about U.S. pork during this busy year-end season.”

Promotional events began in mid-November and will run through the end of the year. Thirty-five companies with more than 2,500 retail outlets are taking part in the nationwide campaign.