Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board Inc

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc., also known as Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, is a nonprofit organization funded by dairy farmers with a mission to boost the demand for Wisconsin milk and dairy products. This mission is achieved by providing programs that enhance the competitiveness of the Wisconsin dairy industry.

The organization is dedicated to promoting Wisconsin milk and cheese, which makes up 90% of the milk produced in the state. To build the Wisconsin cheese reputation, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin engage in various marketing efforts, including public relations, digital advertising, events, search engine optimization, social media, and a national brand ambassador community. They also shifted their digital focus to reach their target audience, food fanatics, through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and expanded into TikToks and Reels.

Despite decreasing traditional digital advertising efforts, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin's SEO strategies helped increase organic traffic to WISCONSINCHEESE.COM, resulting in 2 million website visitors in FY2022. The organization also produced five issues of the popular digital consumer magazine, Grate. Pair. Share., generating over 3.2 million impressions and an average recipe review of 4.8 stars out of 5. They ran three integrated marketing campaigns, "The More the Merrier," "Cheese is My Love Language," and "Wonders of Wisconsin," to drive engagement and in-store sales of Wisconsin cheese.

The "More the Merrier" campaign included both consumer and retail shopper activations, generating over 19 million impressions and 405,000 engagements. The "Cheese is My Love Language" campaign created a season of Wisconsin cheese love from Cheese Lovers Day to Valentine's Day, generating over 35 million impressions through paid digital, execution by 28 national retailers, and $5.3 million in earned media coverage. The "Wonders of Wisconsin" campaign promoted Wisconsin cheese in over 6,200 retail locations nationwide during American Cheese Month, resulting in an average sales lift of 30%.

Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin earned over $45 million in earned publicity in FY2022, indicating a significant return on their investments. They secured placements in widely viewed shows and publications, including Fox & Friends, Today Show, All Recipes, Forbes, People, and more. Public relations supported major campaigns and generated over $5 million in public relations for the "Cheese is My Love Language" campaign alone. Local broadcast coverage continued to grow, helping drive purchases at local retailers. Product placements on TV shows and movies reached over 1 million viewers.

The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin brand advocate program, Cheeselandia, grew to over 5,000 members in FY2022. Word-of-mouth marketing has become an essential part of their strategy, as they leverage Cheeselandians in every state to advocate for Wisconsin cheese. They engaged community members through virtual events, education seminars, and social media, generating over 10,000 conversations about Wisconsin cheese each month.

Through strategic partnerships and brand experiences, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin builds brand loyalty among their food fanatic audience. They continued to tell the Wisconsin cheese brand story through partnerships with Wisconsin Foodie (television) and Heritage Radio Network. Their efforts resulted in original content and targeted ads reaching hundreds of thousands of consumers. They also engaged their core consumer through the "Cheese is My Love Language" campaign, where 500 people were nominated as cheese lovers. The campaign received thousands of nominations and over $5 million in media coverage.

The relentless actions of Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc. to promote dairy products have led to Wisconsin outpacing other origins, such as France or Switzerland, in awareness, consideration, and purchase. Consumers are taking notice, as awareness of Wisconsin cheese varieties is up to 60% and growth of Wisconsin specialty cheese retail sales outpaced the growth of the entire cheese category.