A heavyweight campaign will thrust New Zealand lamb back into the limelight.
The £1.5m push will see the meat back on to mainstream television for the first time since the 90s, said John Mabb, market development manager with the New Zealand Meat Board.
The 10 and 20-second commercials will be appearing on ITV1, GMTV, Channel Four and Channel 5 as well as a large number of satellite channels.
The advertising will also focus on key dates in the UK calendar, including Mothers’ Day, Easter and the Whitsun bank holiday.
The advertising will also include women’s press, foodservice titles and some trade press activity as well as a comprehensive PR campaign,
added Mabb. As part of the public relations activity, the meat board has also produced a series of 10 recipe cards with one being released every month until November to generate editorial coverage.
Consumers can also request the cards via the New Zealand Lamb helpline.
This year however, Mabb said they would be pushing a new message to consumers that New Zealand lamb can be cooked directly from frozen. “In the past we’ve always told people to thaw the meat out first, but now there’s no need to, it can be cooked direct from the freezer.”
He added they would continue to use the blue flash logo with the slogan ‘Fast frozen for Freshness’, introduced last year to reassure consumers of the lamb’s quality, and it would also be used to help promote the concept of cooking straight from the freezer. NZM was also working with the multiples to potentially include the message on bags as well.
He said supplies were looking good this season, although increasing demand from America was putting extra pressure on UK volumes. The recent high profile Oscar wins for The Lord of the Rings had also given the New Zealand Meat Board a boost, he added.
Ed Bedington

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