Insight-Led Campaign Highlighting Benefits of Shopping at your Local Scotch Butchers Club Outperforms Across Every Channel

A new, research driven Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) marketing campaign designed to connect consumers with their local butcher who proudly stock Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork has exceeded industry benchmarks across radio, digital, social and print, driving thousands of shoppers to seek out quality assured Scotch meat.

Launched in February, the campaign was developed to support members of the Scotch Butchers Club and to encourage customers to consider the benefits of shopping with independent butchers when buying Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork.

The work marked a step change in approach which was shaped by independent consumer research, commissioned to understand evolving red meat shopping behaviours. The findings reinforced the enduring appeal of local butchers – notably quality, trust and specialist expertise – while also combating some of the barriers and myths of shopping at a local butcher such as perceived high cost and lack of shopper confidence knowing what to ask for at the counter. These insights informed a refreshed marketing strategy using media channels to serve creative which focused on reassurance, accessibility and value.

The campaign ran across a carefully planned media mix to achieve high awareness levels, including broadcast radio, Facebook and Instagram, digital advertisements and newspaper adverts, ensuring strong reach and repeated exposure to campaign messages at both Scotland-wide and more local levels.

Advertising aired across Bauer’s Hits Radio Network, including Forth 1 and Clyde 1, which delivered particularly strong results and on average, listeners heard the message up to five times, supporting message cut through and recall.

Adverts across Facebook and Instagram performed strongly, showing the effectiveness of targeted localised messaging and demonstrating a strong appetite for butcher led storytelling, whilst digital display advertising on BBC Good Food also worked well in driving engagement. Print advertising provided dependable coverage by reinforcing campaign messages in trusted local titles.

Across the whole campaign that ran for just under four weeks, advertising encouraging footfall to local Scotch Butchers Club members was seen or heard 13.6 million times, driving over 6,000 visits to the Find a Butcher page on makeitscotch.com.

Emma Heath, Director of Marketing at Quality Meat Scotland, said: “This campaign shows what’s possible when strong consumer insight is combined with the right cost-effective media mix and clear, confident messaging. Independent butchers already offer exceptional quality and expertise, and are known for showcasing fresh red meat that is quality assured, locally sourced and farmed with care. So our job for this campaign was to challenge perceived barriers and remind shoppers why their local butcher remains such a valuable part of the retail landscape for everything from a midweek dinner to a show-stopping Sunday roast or meat for a special occasion. The results demonstrate real momentum and tangible value for our Scotch Butchers Club members as we seek to drive footfall into stores, and is another good example of the marketing that QMS do for Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork that has delivered measurable impact for the red meat supply chain”