Oct. 30, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information contact:

Tracey Erickson, Certified Angus Beef LLC Vice President of Marketing, at 330-345-2333

I Am Angus — A Q&A With Tracey Erickson

Certified Angus Beef LLC is the poster child on how to market a breed; a living Harvard Business Review study on how a program should be conducted. The CAB team in Wooster, Ohio, continues to look for creative ways to make sure Angus is the first word in beef marketing

Taking stock of their efforts can be done by attending their annual conference. They met in Scottsdale, Ariz., in mid-September, bringing about 500 people to their dinner table.

It’s one of the most broad-based events in the industry. A rancher from Oregon can compare notes with a foodservice CEO from New York and a packer-buyer from Nebraska can tee it up for a round of golf with a restaurateur from Florida. The CAB crew uses this “cross cultural” opportunity to show off the influence of the brand and bring together every segment of the distribution chain from seedstock producer to retailer.

Leading the team that designs this experience is Tracey Erickson, CAB’s vice president of marketing.

Q. CAB schedules an annual conference in the fall that places all parts of the distribution chain in the same room for a few days to talk about the Angus beef business. The conference just celebrated its silver anniversary. How has it changed in 25 years?

A. The annual conference is our marquee event. Every year we gather the partners in our brand — ranchers, packers, distributors, retailers, restaurants and international licensees — to celebrate their accomplishments, express our appreciation and look at how we can all do a better job in the year to come. It has grown from a mere 30 in 1984, when we held it at the American Angus Association headquarters, to 497 participants this year from the United States and 10 international destinations. The longest trek anyone made was from Guam, to be with us in Scottsdale.

Q. What makes this conference worth the trip?

A. It’s the full scope of the beef industry, that unique series of connections from producer through the end-user, all working toward common goals. Ranchers and foodservice professionals sit at the same table and realize that their worlds are certainly far apart in some respects, but in other ways not. They have the same business challenges and opportunities. They can understand the realm that each works in and really see how it all fits together.

We had some of our distributors talking with our producers and arranging for visits and tours in both directions. We have a gentleman from Boston who is headed out West in a few weeks to spend a week working at a ranch. We have producers who are going to spend some time on a restaurant line. What better way to understand those worlds and the full spectrum of the beef industry than through opportunities like that?

Q. Speakers ranged from the expected; Cattle-Fax president Randy Blach, to the completely unexpected; former Southwest airlines CEO Howard Putnam. The schedule also included an awards banquet and a golf outing to support a scholarship fund. What are you trying to achieve with all these activities?

A. We hope our licensees leave inspired and motivated. We want them to really go back to their places of business with a few solid nuggets of new ideas, things they can implement to grow the brand, but most importantly to grow their businesses. When they do that, and the brand has value and relevance to them, then we grow.

The sessions have a motivational facet, too. We give various awards throughout the event for volume, for marketing, for all different aspects of promotion. We really want them to feel recognized for their efforts and if they’re not an award winner, we want them to feel motivated to do what it takes to make sure they’re an award winner down the road.

The golf outing and auction give companies and individuals a chance to help support young people interested in agriculture and the beef industry. This year at the conference we were thrilled to raise $63,800 for the Mick Colvin Scholarship program. Mick was the founder and first executive director of CAB, and we are currently accepting applications for the scholarship that was set up in his name.

Q. Since this is primarily a producer audience, why should cattlemen care that something like this happens at resorts in places like Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, or Scottsdale, Arizona?

A. One comment that summed it for me from a producer who did attend this year was, “I had no idea there was a team of one hundred-plus people and all those hundreds of companies throughout the country and around the world working for me every day.”

He was absolutely amazed and said, “I will go back home now with a renewed confidence, knowing about the efforts to promote this brand that really benefits me.”

It’s that eye-opening experience of suddenly knowing. Until you’re at the conference and get that feeling, it’s probably hard for some people to get their arms around.

Q. What occupies your time outside of CAB?

A. I have five children so free time is spent with them. We are very blessed to have one young man, 14 years old, and four girls down to a 4-year-old. We’re just finishing up with lots of 4-H projects and coaching basketball, scouts and just about anything you can be involved with to keep young kids on the right track and hopefully out of trouble.

Q. What would you like to say to readers?

A. One theme that was apparent this year is, like many other companies our partners are struggling. The economy is tough. Sales are down. But Certified Angus Beef has given them a bright spot, a leg up, an ability to differentiate themselves. While our partners are not immune from the economic conditions, because of the brand they’ve been able to maintain themselves at a higher level than other companies that don’t have that ace in the hole.

— Adapted from an article by Chuck Jolley, a freelance writer, based in Kansas City, who covers a wide range of ag industry topics for Cattlenetwork.com and Agnetwork.com.