Eckrich® Extends Spokesperson Agreement with College Football Analyst Kirk Herbstreit

CINCINNATI, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Eckrich, a part of the John Morrell Food Group, a division of Smithfield Foods, announced today an extension of its current agreement with Emmy-winning college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit. The extended commitment by Eckrich supports its continued dedication to bring the excitement of college football to the Eckrich brand. The extension means Herbstreit will be a spokesperson for Eckrich into 2016.

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A well-known and trusted voice of college football, Herbstreit has been a spokesperson for Eckrich since 2008. Since that time, Herbstreit has continued to speak to the millions of college football fans about Eckrich products including smoked sausage, deli meat, franks and lunchmeat. He has also been featured in Eckrich advertising and promotional materials including the Eckrich Facebook page (www.facebook.com/EckrichMeats).

"Kirk (Herbstreit) has been a tremendous ambassador for Eckrich for the past four years," said Charles Gitkin, vice president, marketing, innovation and R&D for the John Morrell Food Group. "He has helped connect the enthusiasm of college football to our consumers. This extension means Kirk will continue to bring his passion for college football and our brand to fans for years to come."

As a part of the partnership, Eckrich and Herbstreit will continue their support of Operation Homefront, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) which provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of military service members and wounded warriors. Over the past year, Eckrich and Herbstreit have teamed up to drive awareness of this organization and the military families who it supports.

"Our partnership with Operation Homefront has been a very rewarding experience for all of us," added Gitkin. "Having Kirk's commitment to continue to work with Eckrich and Operation Homefront proves that, like us, he believes in helping our military families."

Herbstreit has been the co-host and lead analyst on ESPN's award winning College Gameday program since 1996. Kirk has also served as the analyst for ABC's Saturday night prime time college football broadcast since 2006. In 2010 and 2011 Kirk won the Sports Emmy Award for television's Best Studio Analyst, recognizing Kirk as the best studio analyst for all sports.

"It's an honor to be associated and work with a great brand such as Eckrich," said Herbstreit. "It has been great to share the brand and its products with all college football fans. Their products align perfectly with the atmosphere of a college game day experience." 

"I have also enjoyed working with Operation Homefront," continued Herbstreit. "As a husband and father, it's important to me that I align myself with a company that believes in helping others, especially our military families. I believe the work we do with Operation Homefront is very important and it's one of the reasons I'm proud to be associated with Eckrich."

About John Morrell Food Group
With over a century and a half of experience, John Morrell Food Group brands have become respected and well known for providing premium-quality meat products to families across the United States. With products ranging from lunchmeat and franks to smoked sausage, bacon and pepperoni, the John Morrell Food Group is an important part of consumers' mealtimes. The John Morrell Food Group offers several national and regional brands including Armour^®, Eckrich^®, John Morrell^®, Curly's^®, Patrick Cudahy^®, Carando^®, Healthy Ones^®, Margherita^® Kretschmar^® and LunchMakers^®.

About Eckrich
Founded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Ind. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care and pride. For more information, visit www.eckrich.com.

About Operation Homefront
A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront leads more than 4,500 volunteers with nationwide coverage, and has met more than 590,000 needs since 2002. A four-star rated charity by watchdog Charity Navigator, nationally, 94 percent of total revenue donated to Operation Homefront goes directly to assist service members. More information is available at www.operationhomefront.net.           

SOURCE Eckrich