Transparency is the key to keeping hens in the house

Millennial consumers' opinions can be changed by effective marketing campaigns, according to Richard Kottmeyer, senior managing partner, Farm to Fork Advisory Services.

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Courtesy Farm to Fork Advisory Services
Courtesy Farm to Fork Advisory Services

Millennial consumers aren’t set on what they want and can be led or coached to change what they want or desire. So, in spite of what you may have heard about how millennials care more about this or that than other demographic groups do, their opinions can be changed by effective marketing campaigns, according to Richard Kottmeyer, senior managing partner, Farm to Fork Advisory Services.

Kottmeyer told the audience at the recent Chicken Marketing Summit in Ashville, North Carolina: “Millennials are extremely reasonable and flexible but only after you manage the trust issue. The bar on trust is higher because they are 'self-researching experts' who feel you lied to them in the past, but trust is built quickly when you stay 'in the buff.'”

Kottmeyer stressed that the typical millennial responds better to common sense explanations than they do to scientific data. In a survey of U.S. consumers sponsored by WATT Global Media, Elanco and the National Chicken Council, 71 percent said the statement “Most chickens are genetically modified to grow bigger and faster” was true.  

Kottmeyer showed how this belief could be debunked by using the analogy of how selective breeding of dogs has resulted in breeds as different in size and growth rate as the Chihuahua and large dog breeds. Consumers, even millennials, know that dogs haven’t been genetically modified.

Egg producers need to get two or three steps in front of the activist groups and address potential issues before they are raised in order to help frame the conversation with consumers. Outdoor access, free range, large bird numbers on one farm, and even high rate of lay should all be looked at and explained in common-sense terms and visuals.

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