French’s Foods has introduced its Cattlemen’s barbecue sauces, a long-time staple in the food service industry and in big-box stores, in an 18-ounce size designed for supermarkets. A $10 million launch campaign includes p.r., a sweepstakes and event sponsorship.
Cattlemen’s has signed Rick Browne, a champion barbecuer, author and host and executive producer of public television’s Barbecue America, as its spokesperson. Browne will use and talk about the Cattlemen’s brand during public appearances and his recipes will appear on Cattlemensbbqsauce.com.
In addition, the 30-plus year old Cattlemen’s brand has signed on as the official barbecue sauce of Memphis in May, a month-long festival that includes the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. The contest runs from May 12-14. The last 11 champions have used Cattlemen’s sauces in their recipes, French’s marketing director Marc Birnbaum said.
Cattlemen’s is also running a Best of Barbecue sweepstakes that will send the grand-prize winner to next year’s Memphis in May event, and award $50 American Express gift checks to 10 runners-up. Consumers 18 and older can send their best original barbecue recipe using one of Cattlemen’s three flavors—Award Winning Classic, Authentic Smoke House or Golden Honey—for a chance to win.
The contest runs through Dec. 15, and the recipes will be tested by an independent judging organization. Bender Hammerling Group, an Upper Montclair, NJ-based p.r. firm, is handling the contest.
Birnbaum said a multiple-city p.r. campaign is set to kick off. French’s Foods will recruit top restaurants that use Cattlemen’s in several key markets to cook meals that will be served on-air to radio DJs.
“We think this will be a great way to help integrate the restaurant business with the consumer business,” Birnbaum said. “We really only have a small window to sell barbecue sauce, and it’s already a competitive landscape.”
The Cattlemen’s campaign would also include sampling in key accounts, shelf banners at retail through the summer and FSIs that will break before Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
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