TBC News

November 13, 2020

A Letter from Molly McAdams, Executive Vice President of the Texas Beef Council

Molly McAdams

 

As we approach the second quarter of 2021, I can’t help but look back and reflect upon my first three months as the executive vice president of the Texas Beef Council. My top priorities have been getting to know this job and getting to know our amazing staff, and I’m happy to report progress on both fronts.The TBC staff has always been deeply committed to great work and they are approaching opportunities with renewed vigor and efficiency. They have shown remarkable ingenuity and adaptability to provide our partners and consumers with positive messages about beef. Here are just a few examples of the TBC staffs’ successful efforts to promote beef in Q1.

Consumer Marketing. The Beef Loving Texans website saw a 46 percent increase in visits and a 38 percent increase in new users as compared to Q1 2020 as consumers sought out information on cooking beef at home. To reach an even greater audience, the team has launched four recipes with our new chief recipe officer, Eddie Jackson, an athlete, Food Network star and beef lover in his own right. This campaign has been highly successful with 11 million video views.

Nutrition. Our medical office outreach representatives have made nearly 3,000 modified office calls this fiscal year. Even though our outreach had to change during the pandemic, we still made a powerful impact. Additionally, we partnered with H-E-B to train their 50-plus dietitians through several webinars and beef-centric educational and promotional materials. We also talked with H-E-B about opportunities to engage with their customers using a multi-pronged approach that included e-commerce, digital content, recipes, health and wellness and much more. When you consider how many Texas grocery shoppers we reached with beef messaging, this partnership delivered tremendous success.

Producer Communications. We’re really excited to announce that we’re updating our producer website, TexasBeefCheckoff.com. This website was last refreshed back in 2014 when the Texas Checkoff passed, and we launched the Beef Loving Texans brand. We want you to be able to get the information you need about your Checkoff when you need it, and this revamped site will make that far easier. When you do visit the refreshed website, be sure to sign up for our Cattle Talk newsletter to get information about your Checkoff delivered directly to your inbox.

Finally, we’re preparing our Long Range Plan to define our strategic work over the next five years. From a staff perspective, we’re asking ourselves how we can communicate even more effectively to consumers and consumer-facing industry partners and determining our most important messages. Measurement and analytics are also high on our priority list. We must determine what to measure, capture that information and use it to determine which efforts are working and which ones to retool or refocus.

Richard’s shoes have not been easy to fill, but he developed a team of passionate, dedicated professionals to carry out the mission for beef promotion, research and education in Texas. With their support and enthusiasm, I’ve been learning more about this job and the challenges and opportunities facing the beef industry.

Personally, I want to thank all Texas beef producers for everything they do. I see your hard work, and I know the past few years have not been easy. You are the backbone of the Texas beef industry, and what you think and say matters, not just to me, but to all of us here at the Texas Beef Council. My door is always open, and I welcome your input and feedback as we all continue along this remarkable journey.