Wisconsin Unveils Omnichannel Cheese Marketing Program

The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW) in Madison, Wis., recently unveiled a strategic and comprehensive retail marketing program to promote its native cheeses.

“We have completely overhauled our entire retail marketing program,” says Ali Peltier, DFW channel marketing manager. While the organization previously offered a retailer toolbox to inspire consumers to choose Wisconsin cheese at the shelf, the more recent omnichannel campaign extends its reach to anywhere consumers are thinking about cheese.

“We now have a playbook based on high cheese participation times of the year from spring through the holidays and year-round,” Peltier says. “We want to go beyond the shelf to inspire consumers before they get to the store.”

These customizable promotions, designed around occasions when consumers are shopping for cheese, provide a menu of tools for creating an engaging in-store, online and digital experience, such as Pairing of the Month, Cheeseboard 101 and Artisan Grilled Cheese.

As part of the campaign, DFW is promoting its new Proudly Wisconsin Cheese badge on cheese labels and in-store signage nationwide. The organization’s hope is that consumers recognize the badge, create recipes using the cheese and post them on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram. The dairy state’s cheese producers are also embracing the Proudly Wisconsin Cheese badge, and full participation is expected by the end of the year, says Lizzie Duffey, public relations specialist for DFW.

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Duffey points to research from IRI in Chicago that shows identifying a cheese as from Wisconsin increases sales 5.9% across the brand. “In the past year, Wisconsin-identified cheeses experienced growth of 7.1%, outpacing the category overall, including both specialty and nonspecialty,” says Duffey, who also points out that sales of specialty cheese were up 3% in 2018.