• by Larissa Faw , January 21, 2016

Last year, Oberto Beef Jerky launched a multimillion dollar spring campaign featuring sports personality Dick Vitale, NFL star Richard Sherman and the voice of sports television personality Stephen A. Smith.

Now Oberto is doubling down on sports stars with a new roster of personalities for its 2016 campaign, including NFL star Rob Gronkowski, baseball all-star Hunter Pence and action sports icon Travis Pastrana. 

Developed by creative shop Positivity and media-buying agency Horizon Media, the campaign features these stars supporting the campaign's tagline, "You Get Out What You Put In."  It’s designed to highlight the fact that so-called active lifestyle consumers, like athletes, need to be mindful of the foods and snacks they consume to help optimize physical and mental performance. 

Each athlete will star in new spots under Oberto’s continuing “Little Voice In The Stomach” television spots.Smith as “The Little Voice” tells the athletes they need to fuel up with Oberto’s lean protein jerky. These athletes will also be featured in digital content initiatives and in-store signage. 

“As athletes at the top of their game, Rob, Hunter and Travis are the perfect embodiments of what we stand for here at Oberto,” stated Mike Ginal, vice president of marketing, Oberto Brands.

At the same time, Oberto has signed a multi-year deal to become a North American sponsor and official beef jerky brand of Nitro Circus, an action sports and entertainment brand founded by Pastrana.

As part of the deal, Oberto will be featured on-site during the live events, as well as receive endorsements through the action sports collective’s line-up of riders.

This deal replaces its two-year sponsorship of Tough Mudder, though Oberto executives decline to discuss their reasoning behind the switch. “We re-evaluate each of our partnerships annually to ensure we are maximizing ROI. In 2016, we are focusing our activation efforts on Nitro Circus.  As the official beef jerky of the action sports platform, we will be amplifying our 'You Get Out What You Put In' message with millions of fans around North America,” the company stated.

Regardless of specific partnerships and celebrity endorsements, Oberto attributes its overall action sports and celeb endorsement strategy for boosting sales and brand awareness.

The second best-selling beef jerky brand experienced a 20% jump in sales over the three months ending December 19, 2015 compared to last year, reports Nielsen.