Cargill turkey brands create a new holiday family tradition with the debut of Disney-Pixar's "BRAVE" in-home release

WICHITA, Kan., Sept. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In a first-of-its-type marketing program for Cargill's Honeysuckle White and Shady Brook Farms turkey brands, the company created a nationwide holiday season promotional tie-in campaign with Walt Disney Studios to celebrate the November 13 release of the Blu-ray™, hi-definition version of Disney-Pixar's "BRAVE," the year's #1 animated movie.

Designed to increase awareness, influence decision making and inspire purchases, the campaign will utilize an array of traditional and new media marketing tools to reach 25- to 54-year-olds who buy and prepare food during the holiday season.  During the promotional period, from November 1, 2012, to January 5, 2013, consumers who buy any Honeysuckle White or Shady Brook Farms turkey product, and a "BRAVE" Blu-ray combo pack, are eligible for a $5.00 mail-in rebate.

"We're pulling out all the stops to heighten the excitement for families this holiday season by providing them with added value from leveraging the collaborative power of the Disney-Pixar and Cargill brands in new and creative ways," said Mary Richardson, marketing manager of fresh turkey for Cargill Value Added Meats - Retail.  "We conducted a substantial amount of research to determine the most effective ways to communicate with consumers responsible for holiday meals at home, and the result is that we're deploying an array of tools ranging from traditional print advertising; 10-second television commercial spots on NBC, CBS and FOX; radio spots; in-store television and radio and point-of-sale materials such as shelf talkers, floor graphics, wobblers and backerboards; to a fully integrated digital program using Quick Response (QR) codes; mobile device applications;  web sites and social media, with the bulk of our efforts hitting in November."

Cargill's research with core whole-bird turkey consumers also examined the way in which consumers select turkeys for holiday meal preparation.  One of the eye-opening discoveries is the widespread and growing use of smart phones by consumers who use them to gather information about products, promotions, pricing, menus and other relevant data that influences brand awareness, purchase intent and, ultimately, the buying of turkey products. 

"We found the use of smart phones for buying holiday turkeys skyrocketed from approximately 8 percent in 2010 to more than 70 percent in 2012.  We know consumers use smart phones for many purposes, and they now use them more frequently to scan barcodes and search for products they see in television advertisements," explained Richardson.  "We recognized this as an opportunity and developed elements of our promotional plan to reach consumers via their smart phones, through which we'll also integrate our promotion of Disney-Pixar's "BRAVE."

An original and thrilling journey set in the ancient and magical Highlands of Scotland, "BRAVE" follows the heroic journey of the headstrong, young adventurer Merida.  Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida confronts tradition and defies an age-old custom that inadvertently unleashes chaos, and forces her to discover the true meaning of bravery.  Coming November 13 on Blu-ray, the 5-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition includes hours of all-new bonus material, extraordinary behind the scenes features, extended and deleted scenes and a mysterious and exciting new short film, "The Legend of Mor'du."

"Turkey is a traditional, delicious and nutritional protein associated with the holiday season in America, and so is watching movies with the entire family.  For 2012, our goal is to make this special time enjoyable and memorable for families throughout the nation," concluded Richardson.      

About Cargill
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 140,000 people in 65 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit Cargill.com and its news center.

About The Walt Disney Studios
For more than 85 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company (DIS: NYSE) was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under four banners: Walt Disney Pictures, which includes Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, Disneynature, Touchstone Pictures and Marvel. Original music and motion picture soundtracks are produced under Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, while Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Broadway theatrical productions, Disney on Ice and Disney LIVE!. For more information, please visit www.disney.com.

SOURCE Cargill