Beef. It's What's For Dinner.

Building a National Media Engine That Delivered Positive News Coverage for Beef and Supported Beef Sales

By leveraging chefs, pitmasters and registered dietitians as year-round media resources, Linhart nearly tripled earned media coverage for Beef. It's What's For Dinner., reinforcing favorable consumer sentiment for beef's flavor, nutrition and versatility and supporting year-over-year sales growth across key beef categories as well.

Challenge

Beef. It's What's For Dinner., managed by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association on behalf of the Beef Checkoff, was looking to maintain beef's relevance with consumers amid inflation, evolving habits, increased competition for media attention and shrinking newsroom resources. Traditional recipe pitches were becoming less effective as reporters prioritized trend-driven, searchable content. The team needed a scalable earned media strategy that would secure consistent national coverage, reinforce beef’s positive perceptions and support beef purchase consideration.

Strategy

Linhart developed a spokesperson-led media relations program designed to position beef within the cultural conversations consumers were already having. Rather than focusing solely on recipes, the team activated a diverse roster of chefs, pitmasters, registered dietitians and ranchers to provide credible commentary across food trends, nutrition, cooking techniques, grilling and agriculture.

The strategy centered on three principles: aligning beef with timely cultural and seasonal moments, expanding storytelling opportunities beyond traditional recipe coverage, and creating media formats that matched editorial demand and existing coverage styles.

Execution

Linhart monitored food, lifestyle and social media trends to identify opportunities where beef could add relevant expertise and value. The team secured high-profile broadcast segments and online placements tied to key calendar moments like summer grilling and holiday, entertaining, food preparation tips and more. The program also elevated rancher stories to keep the broader beef industry visible in national conversations. To maximize efficiency for reporters, Linhart packaged spokesperson insights into proven editorial formats, including trend forecasts, cooking recommendations, “mistakes to avoid,” and seasonal content that outlets regularly seek.

385

earned media placements

54%

increase in impressions

Supported year-over-year increases in beef volume sales

Results

Generated 385 earned media placements, a 179% increase over the previous year.
Delivered 11.8 billion+ impressions, a 54% increase year over year.
Earned coverage across top-tier national outlets including TODAY, CBS Saturday Morning, FOX News, HuffPost, Martha Stewart, Parade, Newsweek and Yahoo.
Supported broader business goals, with year-over-year increases in beef volume sales, including +7.5% for roasts, +3.1% for ground beef and +2.3% for steaks.
Helped maintain strong consumer affinity for beef, with more than 70% of consumers reporting a positive perception of beef.
Received local and national awards recognition for the work and results, including a PRSA Colorado Gold Pick, PRNEWS Platinum PR Awards honorable mention and PR Daily Awards finalist honors.

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