Strong Campaign Delivered For Specially Selected Pork

Quality Meat Scotland’s recent campaign to raise awareness of the versatility and health benefits of Specially Selected Pork has produced impressive results.

The campaign, which kicked off on the 21 January, received a major boost in the form of additional funding of £125,000 from the Scottish Government to support the Scottish pork industry strategy aim of doubling its value by 2030.

The six-week long campaign – “Go Places with Pork” - reached 94% (4.2 million) of the Scottish adult population through a strong combination of print, outdoor and digital advertising, PR activity, social media, influencer engagement and, for the first time, a TV commercial.

The light-hearted TV advert, which featured a family sharing photos of Specially Selected Pork dishes from around the world was seen by over three quarters (78%) of the Scottish population. IGD brand tracking research revealed that 45% in Scotland could recall seeing the advert.

The TV advert was supported by billboard and digital advertising and complemented by PR activity which focused on promoting the versatility and health benefits of pork, as well as influencer partnerships with some of Scotland’s leading bloggers. 

A sampling campaign was also delivered in partnership with Aldi and Lidl, resulting in almost 7,000 Specially Selected Pork samples being enjoyed in store. An impressive 4 in 10 of those aware of the campaign made a Go Places with Pork recipe using Specially Selected Pork and the Scotch Kitchen website saw 40,000 users driven to the site for additional recipe inspiration and to discover more about the brand.

IGD’s research also reveals awareness of key campaign messages were also well received with 73% of respondents who were aware of the campaign agreeing that Specially Selected Pork represents higher standards. Among those who agree with this, 64% attribute this to the product’s Scottish provenance.

Kirsty Fox, QMS Marketing Manager, said: “A huge thank you to those in our industry who really got behind the campaign and supported us with PR, press features and recipe inspiration.

“Celebrity TV chef Phil Vickery and Scotland’s National Chef Gary Maclean both supported the campaign and we also had some excellent support from foodie bloggers.

“In addition to working with butchers, farmers and chefs, we have also been able to demonstrate our commitment to animal welfare by profiling our partnership with the Scottish SPCA throughout the campaign.”

Members of the Scotch Butchers Club received Go Places with Pork recipe booklets and the campaign timed with Weymss Bay butcher Mearns T McCaskie winning the best pork product in Scotland accolade in the Scottish Craft Butchers Specially Selected Pork Products Awards 2019.