Tillamook Sets Out to Be Bigger Cheese

2/9/2011

In its bid to become one of the United States’ top natural dairy brands, the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) has unveiled an ambitious multimillion-dollar marketing campaign. Encompassing online, on-air, on-pack and on-the-road components, the initiative aims to make the farmer-owned cooperative a household name.

“It’s rare that a brand in the dairy aisle fuels such passion, but Tillamook is an exception, a brand built in the Pacific Northwest on farmer care and more than a century of fan love,” noted John Russell, senior director of marketing for the Oregon-based association, which was formed in 1909.“With consumer interest in natural products and companies with authentic heritage growing, it’s a perfect time to give the brand a marketing jolt to bring energy and enthusiasm to something that’s been there for more than 100 years.”

Chief among the campaign’s features is a new best-in-class website, www.Tillamook.com. Created by Los Angeles-based Hello Design, the site replaces multiple websites with a cohesive online brand experience. Among the items visitors will encounter are:

Original “Tillamook Kitchen” videos starring chefs preparing fun but easy dishes
A unique “Tillamook Time” recipe function that automatically highlights breakfast, lunch or dinner recipes based on time of day, so that users can find appropriate meal ideas
An interactive “Cheese IQ” trivia game giving participants chances to win free cheese each time they play;
A community section with a new “Loaf Life” blog offering information on Tillamook, product news and brand insight courtesy of Tillamook employees and partners
Dynamic content featuring real Tillamook employees and inviting the brand’s more than 100,000 Facebook fans join in the fun
Robust cross-referencing of recipes and products

For the second straight year, Tillamook has taken its show on the road with custom vintage VW “Baby Loaf” buses offering samples of its award-winning cheese as part of a national sampling program, The Loaf Love Tour, which will visit hundreds of U.S. cities. This spring, Tillamook’s largest cheese TV advertising campaign, created by Minneapolis-based mono advertising, will make its debut, while on store shelves, a refreshed logo will honor the association’s heritage as a farmer-owned cooperative. Further, an internal team of social media experts is facilitating fan engagement as agencies in Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., support national, local and trade media relations.