Major industry campaign sees positive millennial shift in attitudes to dairy

A major industry campaign aiming to promote dairy to a younger audience has seen positive results, with fewer young people now considering ditching dairy.

The £1.2 million consumer campaign by AHDB Dairy and Dairy UK seeks to remind millennials of their love of dairy.

Results of the campaign so far show an 11 percent drop in those considering a switch to dairy alternatives.

Both AHDB Dairy and Dairy UK created a spoof organisation - ‘The Department of Dairy Related Scrumptious Affairs’ - to target an audience of millennials and young parents who don’t fully understand the values of dairy and how it fits with their lives.

Attitudinal research conducted after the initial wave of promotional activity in February and March this year showed 8% of the target audience were less likely to cut down their dairy intake and 11% were less likely to replace dairy with alternatives.

The tongue-in-cheek campaign created fictional jobs within ‘The Department’ including Minister for Milk, Director of Cheese and Head of Butter.

It featured videos on social media and on-demand TV together with a series of billboard posters at busy city sites including bus stops, rail and bus stations.

The campaign notched up 19 million interactions on social media, and reached 14 million people through advertising.

Love for dairy

The positive findings have led the two organisations to commit a further £1.2 million to the campaign for another year.

Judith Bryans, Dairy UK chief executive said it is "fantastic" to see young people engage with the campaign and to remind themselves what it is that they love about dairy.

“Our decision to move away from traditional media has shown that understanding your target audience and tailoring your messages accordingly is the best way to communicate your message successfully,” Ms Bryans said.

Rebecca Miah, AHDB head of crops and dairy marketing added: “While our interactions and media reach is hugely important as a measure of success, what is more important is how the work impacts on consumer attitudes and actions, which is why we are so pleased to see the positive effect for the industry the campaign has had among the target audience, and we will be ensuring year two is as robust and focused”.

'1 Billion People'

Farmers promoted the campaign locally by ordering branded posters, banners, re-useable coffee cups and car stickers to use on-farm and at local events.

AHDB also launched the ‘1 Billion People’ project, which linked Instagram influencers – people with large social media followings - with farmers to tell the story of how dairy supports 1 billion people globally through sustainable food chains, female empowerment, and local communities.

The campaigns follow news of UK consumers continued support for British dairy, despite the arrival of plant-based alternative drinks and anti-dairy activism, a report released last year shows.

Figures highlight that 87% consumers are drinking cow's milk, 94% of adults buying cheese and 78% enjoying yogurt or fromage frais,

It also show continuous growth in volume and value of sales of milk, cream, cheese yogurt, butter and organic dairy products.