Beef boost in Japan - MLA joins forces with leading Aussie brands

AUSTRALIA - Three of Australia’s largest and most recognisable brands have joined forces with Meat & Livestock Australia in Japan to help boost sales of Australian beef.

3 October 2006

3 minute read

Oceania

Two separate marketing initiatives – one involving Qantas and winemaker Wolf Blass and the other involving Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) – were launched today in Tokyo.

MLA managing director David Palmer, who is currently in Japan, said the joint Qantas, Wolf Blass and Aussie Beef marketing campaign is aimed at boosting sales of Aussie Beef throughout autumn and winter in Japan and is a direct result of the funds made available from the beef levy increase.

“In Japan both beef and wine are perceived as gourmet items to be enjoyed as part of a nice meal - something a bit special. The Japanese also love to travel, so being able to link Aussie Beef with Qantas and Wolf Blass - all highly regarded brands - makes for a very powerful marketing combination,” Mr Palmer said.

The campaign, which runs until December, involves joint branding in retail outlets and will see supermarket customers able to enter a draw to win a number of prizes including steak knives and gourmet cheese packs as well as beef and wine gift packs for those that purchase Aussie Beef and Wolf Blass wine at the same time. Customers will also enter the draw to win one of 10 Qantas business class tickets to Australia. The promotion will be appearing in over 4,000 supermarkets where Aussie Beef is sold.

“This is an exciting initiative that showcases the best of Australia in the valuable Japanese market and it simply wouldn’t have been possible without the extra beef levy funds,” Mr Palmer said.

In addition to the joint retail promotion MLA, through its Industry Collaborative Agreement (ICA) initiative, today held an event to introduce AACo’s 1824 beef brand to the Japanese market.

ICAs see MLA provide up to 40 per cent of funding for marketing initiatives undertaken by Australian red meat exporters in importing countries, such as Japan.

Mr Palmer said MLA was also pleased to be able to collaborate with AACo, Australia’s largest cattle producer, in Australia’s largest beef export market.

“MLA has an intimate knowledge of the Japanese market and we look forward to working closely with AACo to help them build their 1824 brand and increase their market share,” Mr Palmer said.

CEO of AACo Don Mackay said the partnership between AACo and MLA was a great example of how successful industry collaboration can be in export markets.

“The introduction of the AACo 1824 brand to Japan is an important event for our company and we are very excited about the potential this market has for our branded beef products. We are confident that we have a strong future in Japan and look forward to working closely with MLA to build our presence here,” Mr Mackay said.