Quality Food Centers (QFC) Promotes New Cuts with Football Game Sponsorship

The Washington State University football team looked forward to playing an early-season game at the Seahawks' Stadium in Seattle to rally support since they have a substantial fan base in the Seattle area. This special game is called the Cougar Gridiron Classic, Presented by Washington’s Beef Producers.  For the past two years, the Washington State Beef Commission has partnered with Quality Food Centers (QFC) and Certified Angus Beef (CAB) for a beef promotion highlighting new beef cuts at QFC. 

This year, QFC stores geared up for the Sept. 12, 2009, game with special promotions starting in mid-August. The promotion was centered on a tailgating theme and featured two new cuts from the chuck roll, the Beef Chuck Under Blade Center Steak Boneless and Beef Chuck Eye Steak Boneless. These case-ready cuts were featured in a special section of the meat case next to case-ready Beef Shoulder Top Blade (Flat Iron Steak). During the four-week promotional period, dollar sales for these two new cuts increased 57%!

“We were happy to be able to be the promotion partner for the football game again this year, “said Oscar Blaser at QFC. “We were pleased that the promotion helped us increase sales of these new cuts by more than 50%. We got customers excited about the game and, more importantly, excited about these new beef cuts.”

The promotion also included other elements like local “Beef It’s What’s For Dinner” radio ads, ad features, an in-store Point-of-Sale counter card with a discount for $5 off a ticket to the game, announcements in QFC stores and a prize for the best display for the promotion. The Washington State Beef Council Web site generated 4,700 Web site sessions during the promotion.

All of the hype leading up to the game reached a peak on Sept. 12, when the Washington State University Cougars took on the University of Hawaii football team. Gameday was centered on beef. Even the halftime show featured “Rodeo,” the song used in conjunction with the “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner” advertising campaign. Fans received samples of “Cougar” Cowboy Beef with Black Bean Chili. About 120 producer volunteers served 8,000 samples of the chili in a two-hour window before kick-off. In addition to the sample of chili, fans received a recipe for the chili and a coupon for $5 off a beef purchase at QFC.

“This promotion is a great example of how we can work together to increase beef demand,” said Rob Noel, Director of Promotions for the Washington State Beef Council. “Washington’s Beef Producers, Certified Angus Beef and Quality Food Centers have all worked together to make this promotion a success.”