Pork takes centre stage in AHDBs health-focused marketing campaign

The Agricultural and Horticultural Board (AHDB) is once again supporting the long-term demand for pig meat by championing pork as a healthy, tasty and versatile meal choice with the latest burst of its highly successful ‘Mix up Midweek with Pork’ marketing campaign. This comes at a time when people are opting for healthier meals and making lifestyle changes.

Running from 23 January until 24 February, families will see a 30-second advert on ITV, Channel 4 and Sky for two weeks. On-pack stickers, online banners, aisle fins and static recipe barkers promoting the campaign will be visible across eight supermarkets (Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Co-op, Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons and Lidl), online shopping sites and across social media.

Helping to ensure that pork continues to feature on shopping lists of Britain’s households, the campaign aims to inform consumers about the leaner cuts of pork, such as medallions, loins, mince, and fillet as well as how pork can form part of a healthy, balanced diet, as it is a source of nine vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B12.

Following AHDB’s autumn 2022 Feed the Family for less with pork campaign, which raised awareness of pork’s positive role in meal choices during the current cost-of-living crisis, the Mix up Midweek with Pork campaign will continue to promote affordable meal choices with a range of recipes that come in at under £1.50 per head.

Delicious, healthy, easy-to-cook, and quick recipes for mid-week meals have been developed for this campaign, and there is something for everyone, such as pork and ginger stir-fry, pork medallions ramen, dan-dan noodles, and Caribbean pork. These and lots more are available on the consumer website lovepork.co.uk, and healthy pork recipe cards and a poster will be mailed to farm shops and butchers.

AHDB is also reaching out to more people with this campaign by extending the target audience to individuals aged 18–25 years old, who are also known as Generation Z/Gen Z. An age category which currently has less of an affinity with pork and a lower purchase intent than the core target audience. Gen Z will be targeted by fellow Gen Z influencers through recipe videos on social media channels and humorous sketches educating them about pork’s nutritional benefits.

Carrie McDermid, AHDB’s Head of Marketing, explains: “We are working with MOB kitchen, the leading food media platform for Gen Z, to inspire young people to cook healthy and delicious pork meals and highlight the nutritional benefits of eating pork, such as vitamin B12. New video recipes have been created by the Mob team and their foodie influencers, showcasing lean cuts of pork in a variety of world cuisines.

“Two popular influencers on TikTok will also feature a fun, attention-grabbing video to encourage the Gen Z audience to think of pork as a healthy source of protein and a nutrient-packed alternative to chicken. This content will be promoted on Instagram.”

The Gen Z campaign sits alongside the continued focus of targeting healthier home cooks and foodie explorers, who are adults typically interested in health and food trends.

Carrie McDermid added: “Marketing is one of AHDB Pork’s top priorities for the next five years and beyond, and we are committed to delivering award-winning consumer marketing campaigns that will drive positive attitudes to pork consumption in and out of the home. Evaluation of last year’s pork campaign showed that 92% of consumers agreed the TV advert communicated pork medallions as a healthy mealtime choice, and 70% of consumers said they were more likely to eat pork medallions after seeing the campaign.”

The campaign complements AHDB’s We Eat Balanced marketing campaign that is currently running until 4 February 2023 on TV and social media, showcasing the sustainable attributes and health benefits of red meat and dairy.

Listen to the latest episode of AHDB’s Food and Farming podcast to hear more about the Mix up Midweek with Pork campaign. Follow AHDB Pork on Twitter and Facebook to join in the conversation.