Just a click away at KansasCitySteaks.com

Where’s the Steak?
If you are looking for a great steak, John McKinven knows exactly where you can get one and he’s developing a multi-media plan to tell the world. “The Kansas City Steak Company offers top quality steaks that are ready to put on the grill,” the new president of the Consumer Division of The Kansas City Steak Co., says confidently. “Our number one challenge right now is brand awareness, or the lack of it, and what we have to offer. We’re going to change that.”

McKinven knows of what he speaks. He has a background in direct marketing to consumers, most recently with the Bradford Group in Chicago, IL. “While I have a lot of experience in direct marketing to consumers, I haven’t had the opportunity to market high quality, perishable products like The Kansas City Steak Co. offers. “Customer comments about our products are universally positive, which is encouraging given the perishable nature of our products and the high expectations of our customers.

“We have an 80 year history of providing restaurants with top quality steaks, but remarkably our brand is virtually unknown at this time,” McKinven reiterates. “So we’re going to use a combination of print and social media to have fun raising brand awareness—not just for the Baby Boomer generation, but also the Millennial and Gen X generations as well.”

McKinven has three children in the younger generation age group who help keep him abreast of the importance and potential impact social media can have on brand awareness and on driving sales. “The younger generations rely more on their friends’ recommendations than traditional advertising—unlike older
generations,” he notes. “Millennials post on Facebook, Tweet or post photos on Instagram and Pinterest and reach hundreds, if not thousands, of “friends” or “followers” instantly.

“Being a social group, it’s no surprise grilling is huge with the Millennial generation and since there are more of them than Baby Boomers, we need to learn how to speak to them,” he adds. “Most Millennials have never not had a computer and most have had smart phones for much of their lives. They are accustomed to games and competition on social media. We’ll use those techniques to get them engaged in our products.”

McKinven says The Kansas City Steak Co. will employ staff and use public relations/advertising agencies to develop a multi-media approach to the total marketplace. “We want to raise brand awareness in every generation, which means traditional print media, like daily newspapers, and our catalogs will still be used to communicate with consumers who prefer to learn about our company’s products in that manner,” he says.

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USPB producers, Tom and Michelle Fanning, from Buffalo, OK, helped National Beef customer Stew Leonard promote Father’s Day last month in New York. The event centered around a radio interview on the Scott Shannon show on WCBS in New York city.

“It was a wonderful experience for us,” said Tom, who manages Buffalo Feeders. “It really helped us understand the “foodie” mind set people in that part of the country have. They really take food choices, and steak in particular, serious, especially at the high end restaurants.

“In addition to us learning about them, it was an opportunity to share how we produce beef and that we are committed to food safety and quality because we feed our families what we produce, which is what we deliver to National Beef and they sell to their customers like Stew Leonard’s.”

“Highlighting USPB producers strengthens National Beef’s

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CB Farms Named BIF
Commercial Producer of the Year
The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) recognized CB Farms Family Partnership, which is owned by USPB producers Barry and Carla Bortz, Preston, KS, as its Commercial Producer of the Year during the organization’s annual meeting in Lincoln, NE.

Berry and Carla Bortz, and their family, own and manage CB Farms Family Partnership, a cow-calf, feedlot and farm operation they started more than 30 years ago with two irrigated circles, two dryland quarters and about 300 acres of grass they used to background calves.

Today they farm 19 irrigated circles, 2,500 acres of dry land and 2,000 acres of native grass. They have 550 spring-calving cows, of which 150 are registered black Angus. They also operate a 1,500-head feedyard. CB Farms grows corn, wheat, soybeans, milo, sunflowers, cotton, alfalfa, Bermuda grass and sorghum sedan grass. They finish all their calves, along with calves purchased from their bull customers. The finished cattle are marketed through U.S. Premium Beef.s

Did You Know...

üIf you have delivery rights you do not plan on using in delivery year 2014, which ends August 30, and would like USPB to help you get them leased to other producers, please call our office at 866-877-2525.s