• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, August 4, 2011

Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA) is promoting Borden Cheese products this summer with a tour featuring a hands-on exhibit experience and live performances by 14-year-old rising country music star Easton Hamlin.

The tour is the latest extension of DFA's three-year-old "Friends of Elsie" campaign, named after Borden icon Elsie the Cow. DFA is a cooperative comprising 16,000-plus dairy farmers across 48 states.

The campaign was launched to drive sales of the Borden cheese and butter products that DFA makes and markets under license -- in large part by stressing the message that the products are made by a cooperative (DFA) that is 100% owned by farmers, who receive 100% of product sale proceeds. (DFA also makes and markets dairy products under other licensed brand trademarks, but Borden is its largest brand.)

The farmer-owned/locally-produced messages resonate with consumers increasingly concerned about the origins of their food, Janine Smiley, DFA's director of industry communications, tells Marketing Daily.

The campaign -- which includes regional cable television, national magazine print ads, in-store promotion/sampling, online ads and a Web site and Facebook and Twitter presences under the "Friends of Elsie" handle -- encourages consumers to become "Friends of Elsie" both to support the farmers and to receive special offers, coupons, new products and recipes.

The TV ad, for example, features members of an Ohio farm family/DFA member. And the products' packaging now features a ribbon design element spotlighting the "100% farmer-owned" message.

The campaign has been continued and expanded for good reason. Since its launch, the DFA-produced Borden products have seen double-digit sales volume growth and increased share in the regions where marketing has been focused, reports Smiley. (The DFA-produced Borden products' biggest markets are the South, Southwest and Northeast.)

Consumers can become "Friends of Elsie" by registering on the site (which asks for mobile phone number, as well as email), or through the Facebook page.

The 2011 summer tour takes the campaign to a more personal, grassroots /local level, says Smiley.

During the tour -- which is stopping at the Oklahoma, South Carolina and North Carolina state fairs, plus venues in Oklahoma City, Columbia, S.C. and Raleigh, N.C. -- attendees who visit the exhibit and identify themselves as Facebook/registered "Friends" are being given gifts, reports Smiley.

Hamlin's live performances for Borden Cheese during the tour will soon be supported by the ability to digitally download one of his songs, courtesy of "Friends"/Borden Cheese, reports Smiley.

The Borden Cheese "Friends" tour experience offers attendees the opportunity to meet farm families and participate in activities that include trying a portable cow-milking machine, playing an interactive farm game, and checking out a cow-to-person height comparison chart. The exhibit also offers information about different types of cheese and butter.

Borden Cheese is currently launching two new flavors for its Singles Sensations line and four new flavors for its natural cheese line.