Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is a peak not-for-profit organisation representing an almost $17 billion injection into Australia’s economy. Group Marketing Manager Andrew Howie and his team of nine marketing professionals are responsible for promoting domestic consumption of Lamb, Beef, Veal and Goat, creatively extolling the nutritional benefits, quality and sheer deliciousness of one of the nation’s most important food industries.
Award-winning TV campaigns such as the Australia Day Lamb ads all fall under Howie’s marketing wizardry but, away from the glitz and glamour of TV personalities, the equally important promotion of meats at point-of-sale in butcher shop windows and chiller cabinets, captures real shoppers with money to spend there and then.
This means effective printed signage and, as every butcher knows, the closer to the meat it is, the better the results. In days past, many butchers doubled as sign-card writers, learning with flair how to spruik: ‘Today’s Special Cut’ ‘Grain Fed for Tenderness’ or ‘Best Filet $19 Kg today only.’
But the umbrella strength and high-power marketing of the MLA can deliver campaigns to butchers and supermarkets that run nationally and amplify results. At point-of-sale, signage is not without its challenges – we’re talking about a critical food chain here and hygiene is paramount.
Butcher shop glass should be cleaned daily to hospital standards and any signage that is attached to the glass can be problematic. Spotting this opportunity, Starleaton CEO Ben Eaton knew that he had a solution to the problem but the market did not know about it – Neschen Easy Dot printable vinyl. So, samples in hand, he went right to the top and met with Howie who could reach 2,600 butcher shops across Australia.
“We had been trying several products but some would just not remove from the glass for cleaning while others left a sticky mess behind. We could see right away that Easy Dot with it’s dot-structured removable adhesive could not only solve the remove-and-re-apply conundrum but, because it eliminates air bubbles, was quick and easy to apply by non-skilled people,” says Howie.
Tests were conducted in association with Sydney digital wide-format printer Shout Media and soon the ‘You Never Lamb Alone’ POS marketing kits were rolling out from the MLA’s distribution warehouse to the nation’s butcher shops. Shout Media (www.shoutmedia.com.au> produced and cut the 1.2 and 1.5 metre-long strips on Easy Dot using food-friendly odourless inks on a digital wide-format printer.
Bet Eaton comments: “The big advantage with Neschen Easy Dot is that it can be removed and re-applied several times; more than enough for the life of a campaign. The air channels between the dots mean that no special application tools are needed, just hand-smoothing. If a butcher gets it on crooked, just peel it off and try again! The same goes for cleaning the glass; peel of the Easy Dot signs and put them back on again once the cleaning is done.”
“Easy Dot is a simple glass signage solution,” says Howie, “but then some of the best marketing ideas are just that: simple. The Butchers love it and it’s on our radar for future campaigns.”
Starleaton will be demonstrating Neschen Easy Dot and other sign & display solutions at PacPrint, Melbourne from May 23-26 2017, stand E30.
Starleaton Digital Solutions
www.starleaton.com.au
