May is almost here, and believe me when I say you don’t want to miss out on a month-long extravaganza to drive cheese sales. Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin is ringing in American Cheese Month with its Welcome to Wisconsin campaign, a multifaceted strategy to highlight the impressive quality of Wisconsin-produced specialty cheeses. Michelle Trowbridge, Director of Retail Channel Marketing, recently shared the details.
“Wisconsin has the ideal terroir for dairy farmers to produce the highest quality milk—and high-quality milk makes the best cheese,” Michelle tells me as we dive into a conversation about the prestige of Wisconsin cheese and the organization’s latest strategies to elevate it. “Wisconsin is the most awarded cheese in the world, winning more awards than any other country or state—6,500 national and international awards and counting. Because 90 percent of Wisconsin’s milk is made into cheese, we promote cheese across the country and globally. If we were a country, we would be the fourth-largest cheese producer in the world. Further elevating the quality of Wisconsin cheese, Wisconsin’s Master Cheesemaker Program is one of only two in the world, and it is the only state in the country that requires a license to make cheese.”
Already recognized by consumers as a premium staple in the specialty cheese space, DFW is implementing more strategies to fuel momentum for Wisconsin cheese. This includes the Welcome to Wisconsin campaign, which kicks off this May.
“Welcome to Wisconsin really highlights the abundance of specialty cheese Wisconsin crafts and brings it to the forefront of the specialty cheese category,” Michelle explains. “Our goal is to create a destination for Wisconsin cheese during this time, which coincides with the American Cheese Society’s (ACS) American Cheese Month. Because we make over 50 percent of the nation’s specialty cheese, we really want to emphasize the quality and variety of Wisconsin cheese to shoppers.”
The Welcome to Wisconsin campaign includes various omnichannel solutions for retailers, including featured recipes, digital advertising, social media posts, and in-store point-of-sale materials. Each of these resources is strategically created to further drive recognition of the coveted Wisconsin Cheese badge.
“Shoppers recognize the quality of Wisconsin milk, thanks to our dedicated dairy farmers and our unique environment—the land, water, and climate all play a role. And since great cheese starts with great milk, that quality shines through in our products. Our May promotions consistently drive increased sales of Wisconsin cheeses, helping grow not just our brand, but the entire specialty cheese category,” Michelle notes.
“In addition to our Welcome to Wisconsin campaign, we offer a library of tools and tactics for our retail partners to help with storytelling, inspiration, and education,” adds Michelle. “From pairings and recipes to cheesemaker stories and sampling, we help retailers inspire shoppers to discover their next favorite Wisconsin cheese.”
The organization’s retail partners have access to a digital asset portal to pull merchandising inspiration. DFW also works with its partners’ promotional calendars to align their promotions and help them build their campaigns around specialty cheese.
When it comes to a partner who can help increase category knowledge, drive inspiration, and aid in storytelling, DFW has all the tools to help drive sales for retailers’ specialty cheese departments.
More insights into the organization’s demand-driving strategies are on the way, so stick around.
