Sharing Dairy's Powerful Story at an Illini Basketball College Game
When you head to the land that bleeds orange and blue in Champaign, Ill., people talk basketball. Illini basketball to be more specific. Fans are die-hards. Both the women’s and men’s teams are ranked for the first time in a long time, so basketball is hyped up and talked about a lot.
The names Ayo Dosunmu, Trent Frazier, and Kofi Cockburn who have played for Illinois are well known. But what wasn’t known is how a dairy farm family from East Moline, Ill., got VIP access to a Sunday afternoon game. Those waiting in line looked at us, well specifically my husband, dressed in farm attire, and wondered what secret code we offered to get escorted to a back door and was offered early access into the State Farm Center. The answer is cheese. No, we didn’t bring any, but as dairy farmers, we produce lots of it, and well, that gave us celebrity status for the day.
Truth be told, we were helping Midwest Dairy with a promotion activity ahead of the game. We asked trivia questions to those attendees, as they got to play PINKO (remember that from the Price in Right?) and win prizes. Our early access was only provided so we could set up ahead of the main doors opening.
The neat thing is that Midwest Dairy, and other promotional groups around the country, are meeting consumers where they are at, to tell them all about dairy’s goodness. So, it makes perfect sense to talk to attendees at a basketball game about the nutritional importance dairy delivers daily.
Not that long ago, the checkoff shifted its focus from the original Fuel Up to Play 60 platform to bring new and diverse partners together to expand opportunities to increase access to dairy with other nutritious foods and engage youth around healthy eating and food production.
I think this is fantastic, but what an incredible opportunity to cheer on the Illini basketball, and also to cheer on dairy ahead of the game.
We have to continue to meet consumers where they are to deliver messaging. And questions were asked of those in attendance. Like “What is a baby cow called?” and “Do cows have teeth on the top or bottom or both?” and “How many pounds of milk does it take to make one gallon of ice cream?” – which by the way, the kids outperformed the adults. They knew many of the answers. But one question led to more questions about dairy. What an incredible opportunity.
So, as you make time to cheer on your favorite sports team this winter, also look for additional ways you can cheer on dairy and help with promotional activities through your local checkoff.
