Meaty marketing insights to make your next campaign sizzle

As we head into a fresh, new financial year, we’re all looking for inspiration and who better to talk to the power of marketing than Nathan Low – General Manager, marketing & insights, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA).

As Nathan approaches his one-year mark with MLA, ThinkTV’s Rowena Newman grilled him about the opportunities for marketers in the current climate, what he has learned marketing beef and lamb, and taking on that iconic lamb campaign.

‘Running with scissors & chewing gum at the same time’: Taking the MLA marketing helm at the height of COVID

When experienced FMCG marketer Nathan Low joined Meat and Livestock Australia in July 2020, the pandemic was creating a constantly changing consumer landscape. Nathan found himself rapidly changing strategies for a business he was still learning about with a team he was yet to meet in person. Find out how he navigated the challenge.

Choosing what not to do: The underlying disciplines of FMCG marketing

Is there a formula for marketing FMCG brands? According to Nathan, there are underlying disciplines. For Meat and Livestock Australia, the business takes a three to six month run up to plan its strategies however this year, agility continues to be key with insights from the past year requiring further analysis. Did COVID result in one-off short-term bumps versus long term trends? Find out how Nathan and his team are making the distinction and planning accordingly.

My first big lamb campaign: Raising the stakes, and other unintentional puns

Meat and Livestock Australia is perhaps best known for its iconic annual lamb campaign and it’s a strategy Nathan inherited yet plans to continue noting, “You don’t want to walk away from something that has been so successful for such a long time.”

The hotly anticipated campaign puts the brand in a unique position few others have experienced: each year, consumers are actually waiting to see its ad!

With lamb having been successful in owning Australia Day and BBQ season, the real challenge is to do better each year and continue to cleverly tap into the zeitgeist.

Nathan explains the mechanics of how the big lamb campaign works and how to ensure mass reach feeds back into the path to purchase.

Beefing up the 2021 Olympics

With the 2021 Olympics fast approaching, Meat and Livestock Australia is partnering with Seven to share the message of beef’s role in a healthy diet.

The campaign features Kelsey-Lee Barber, Australian reigning female javelin champion and goes beyond spots and dots to include activation and integration opportunities.

Nathan explains how the brand is leveraging the year’s most anticipated sporting event.

It’s marketers that complicate marketing: How to market less ‘sexy’ FMCG brands with smaller budgets

According to Nathan, marketing is relatively simple and he advises FMCG marketers that the grass on the other side, “isn’t as green as you think.” Despite the perceived scale of the famous lamb campaign, the actual budget behind it is quite small. The key to making dollars stretch is making smart choices and working closely with media agency partners to ensure minimum wastage. He also advises marketers not to be blinded by flashy new toys and to unnecessarily “complicate” marketing.