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Partial Listing of Print and Broadcast Interviews
and Press Release Placement
The message to Consumers? PORK IS SAFE!
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H1N1 Educational Update - August 2009
The National Pork Board is utilizing social media outlets and traditional communication methods to educate members of the media on using ‘H1N1’ as the proper title for influenza virus identification.
Among actions taken in recent weeks has been letters to major media outlets from National Pork Board President Tim Bierman explaining why the name H1N1 flu virus, versus the use of “swine flu” is correct, and the launch of a twitter campaign that also stresses the importance of using the correct terminology to identify the virus.
Additional national-level work includes scheduling meetings with top media and media influencers to further communicate the person-to-person transmission of H1N1, along with reminders that pork is safe to eat.
The NPB is also doing consumer research to gauge pork purchasing intentions should H1N1 be found in the U.S. pig herd.
The Minnesota Pork Board will distribute a brochure that answers common consumer questions regarding H1N1 at the Miracle of Birth Center, Oink Booth, and Promotion Booth during the Minnesota State Fair.
Also, the Minnesota Pork Board asks that pork producers who read or hear their local media using the term ‘swine flu’ rather than H1N1, contact the newspaper, radio or television station with a reminder on the proper influenza name.
The Minnesota Pork Producers Association (MPPA) is encouraging pork producers and allied industry to call Minnesota’s Senators and Representatives and request their support of the following:
• $50 million pork purchase for government feeding programs. (The U.S. Department of Agriculture annually buys pork for federal food programs; it bought nearly $62.6 million worth in 2008, for example.)
• Remove a spending cap on USDA’s Section 32 food-assistance program so that additional purchases of surplus agriculture products, including pork, can be made. (Congress imposed the cap as part of USDA’s fiscal 2009 budget.)
• Urge China to quickly lift a ban on U.S pork that was put in place because of the H1N1 flu outbreak and to eliminate other barriers to U.S. pork exports.
Information on contacting lawmakers can be found at www.mppainsider.org. The MPPA works on legislative and public policy at local, state and national levels. Its activities are funded by the voluntary Strategic Investment Program. The MPPA does not utilize mandatory Pork Checkoff dollars.
August 25, 2009 - When news of the H1N1 outbreak hit in late April, the value of crisis management became clear to the Pork Checkoff, which continues to monitor the H1N1 situation closely.
“We have action plans and crisis plans that we’ve built in the pork industry during the last decade, and we were able to put those plans to work for producers,” says Cindy Cunningham, assistant vice president of communications for the Pork Checkoff, who stresses that H1N1 is not currently in the U.S. swine herd.
Pork producers were notified immediately last spring when it became clear that the H1N1 outbreak had become a significant situation. All pork producers whose e-mail address are in the Pork Checkoff’s database received an e-mail explaining the issue. The message noted what actions needed to be taken on the farm and detailed why enhanced biosecurity protocols should be implemented.
To address the H1N1 outbreak beyond the farm, the pork industry responded through a joint effort between the National Pork Board, the National Pork Producers Council, the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. The partners focused on four goals:
Reassure U.S. consumers and America’s international trading partners that U.S. pork is safe.
Protect the U.S. swine herd from becoming infected with H1N1.
Monitor the coverage of H1N1 by the media, social media, government and industry, and supply these organizations with science-based, accurate information.
Be prepared to protect and defend the U.S. pork industry against unwarranted attacks and allegations.
The pork industry worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and top administrators in the federal government to encourage officials to refer to the disease as H1N1, not “swine flu.”
To convey the message to consumers that pork is safe, the Pork Checkoff also supported paid advertising in national publications like the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. While consumer polling revealed that consumer confidence dipped within a few days of the H1N1 outbreak, it quickly rebounded.
“This is tremendous, and it also shows how the relationships we have with our retail and foodservice partners really come to bear in a situation like this,” Cunningham said. “We showed retail and foodservice outlets how strong consumer confidence levels were, so they understood that consumers would continue to buy pork.”
