IBP Heats Up $20M for 1st National Brand - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Brandweek, May 14, 2001 by Sonia Reyes

Seizing on growing consumer demand for convenient, easy-to-prepare meat and pork products, IBP is launching an unprecedented $20 million marketing effort behind Thomas E. Wilson, its first national consumer brand of fresh, frozen and cooked items.

A national TV, print, radio effort in the fall, via FCB, Chicago, marks a departure from IBP's largely regional marketing efforts to date with creative tagged, "Make more out of dinner with Thomas E. Wilson," skewing to females aged 25-54 on network, cable and syndicated programming. Family themed print ads will run in women's and cooking titles. In-store demos, FSIs and cross-promotions with food marketers are planned.

The new brand of packaged case-ready products covers a variety of fresh, frozen and marinated pre-cooked meat and pork items in the retail meat case. The refrigerated pre-cooked roasts can be microwaved in minutes. Now testing in Indiana and Michigan, the line will roll out late summer.

"This is part of our grand strategy to leverage our access to raw materials [cattle/hogs] to add value through branding and increase our returns over time," said Jack Dunn, president of IBP's Consumer Branded Products Group. "We want to own the dinner occasion."

The new strategy follows a banner 2000 when IBP notched a 12% jump to $16.9 billion from 1999, per its latest earnings report. But IBP is also in a bitter legal battle with Tyson Foods, which recently reneged on an $4.7 billion merger acquisition agreement of IBP.

The new entry's pre-cooked roasts will go up against such rivals as ConAgraFoods and Hormel, the category leader in the value-added meats segment with its Always Tender Pork line, which recently broke a $30 million umbrella marketing effort.