U.S. Pork Promoted as Nutritious Protein Snack at Sport, Fitness Events in Korea
USMEF partners with a popular lifestyle magazine to promote the wide variety of ways protein-rich U.S. pork is available to consumers in Korea.
Professional baseball is a leading spectator sport in Korea. To capitalize on the sport’s growing popularity, USMEF partnered with Singles, a popular lifestyle magazine, to promote U.S. pork at a professional baseball game in Suwon, a city 20 miles south of Seoul with a population of 1.2 million. USMEF advertised U.S. pork as a nutritional protein snack inside the stadium while operating a “brand zone” outside the stadium with fun, baseball-themed social media activities.
"We typically promote U.S. pork’s taste and quality to consumers. At fitness and sporting events we also highlight U.S. pork as a versatile and enjoyable option that fits perfectly into their busy lifestyles,” says Korea Director Junil Park. “For the event, we worked with a Korean processor to develop U.S. pork jerky ‒ a portable, protein-rich snack that consumers can either enjoy at the game or take home.”
USMEF set up a “brand zone” booth during the game, where visitors could earn a package of U.S. pork jerky by visiting a USMEF social media channel named American Meat Story. A QR code was printed on the jerky packages that linked directly to a variety of U.S. pork product options sold on e-commerce sites. Featured U.S. pork items included chilled cuts (single-ribbed belly and collar butt), bulgogi, barbecue ribs and pork cutlet products, as well as processed items such as Johnsonville sausages and Oscar Mayer bacon.
During the game, promotional videos for U.S. pork were shown on stadium scoreboards. Two dedicated articles promoting U.S. pork’s versatility as a protein snack were also published in a special edition of Singles magazine, which was distributed to fans at the stadium.
Nearly 1,450 visitors visited the USMEF booth and a total of 9,040 U.S. pork jerky packages were distributed. The American Meat Story Instagram channel also added more than 700 new followers during the promotion.
“This promotion with Singles magazine positioned U.S. pork as a high-protein, snack solution tailored for sports and active lifestyles. Experiencing U.S. pork in a lively baseball stadium atmosphere will help consumers think of U.S. pork as a high-quality, high-protein snack,” says Park.
Funding support was provided by USDA’s Market Access Program and the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program.