Smiling man in glasses holds a burger in a kitchen; woman in a wide-brim hat holds drumsticks over pretzel-bun burgers
Submitted by LinqiaAgency IPI Score 54/100

JBS Beef Beefitarian Burgers & Beats Challenge

Influencer Marketing

Linqia ran a Nashville influencer recipe contest for JBS Beef's Beefitarian campaign, and the agency reports 1.6M potential impressions across paid and organic activity.

1.6MPotential Impressions
20%Vs Food Benchmark
14Local News Articles
80%Positive Comments

About the campaign

JBS Beef ran the Beefitarian Burgers & Beats challenge in Nashville with Linqia, which reports 1.6 million potential impressions. JBS USA is a global food company selling meat and poultry products in approximately 100 countries. Its research found Millennials and Generation Z were underdeveloped consumer segments for beef. Its integrated marketing agency Element created Beefitarian to celebrate beef and teach cooking and nutrition.

Element brought in the agency to design an influencer program for a test campaign in Nashville. The agency used its AI technology to select 7 influencers. Each one created a burger recipe inspired by a Nashville musical artist, song or venue. Recipes ran on the influencers' blogs and on Beefitarian.com, where the public voted for the best burger. Influencers promoted the vote through videos, Instagram posts, Pinterest pins, Facebook posts and tweets. Beefitarian and JBS donated $1 to The Nashville Food Project for each vote. The agency also turned the content into 6 ads on Facebook and Instagram.

The agency reports 1.6 million potential impressions across the paid and organic campaigns. The campaign outperformed the the agency Food benchmark by 20%. Of all comments, 95% were positive or neutral and 80% were positive. Local outlets ran 14 articles, and NBC's Today in Nashville featured the winning recipe live. The #beefitarian hashtag trended on social media.

Case in 60 seconds

Millennials and Generation Z were underdeveloped consumer segments for beef, because younger shoppers lacked the knowledge and confidence to cook it, so JBS needed a campaign that educated as much as it celebrated.

Younger shoppers afraid of ruining a cut of beef will try a recipe from a local creator they already follow, and in Nashville a music reference gives that recipe a reason to be shared.

Linqia built the Beefitarian test around what Music City residents care about most, asking local influencers to create burger recipes inspired by a Nashville artist, song or venue and compete for public votes.

Linqia used its AI technology to pick 7 influencers, who published recipes on their blogs and Beefitarian.com and promoted the vote through Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and tweets, while each vote triggered a $1 donation to The Nashville Food Project. Their content then ran as 6 tested ads on Facebook and Instagram aimed at younger adults in Nashville.

Linqia reports 1.6 million potential impressions across paid and organic activity and a result 20% above its Food benchmark, while 95% of comments were positive or neutral and 14 local news articles followed.

Strategy Breakdown

Millennials and Generation Z beef shoppers in Nashville, with the paid ads aimed at the 18-34 year old audience in the city.
Beef faced growing hesitation among younger shoppers who did not know how to cook it or how it would taste, so the work had to teach cooking while still celebrating the variety of beef.
JBS acted as host and donor rather than narrator, housing the contest on Beefitarian.com and giving $1 per vote to The Nashville Food Project, so the influencers carried the message.
Fear of getting it wrong keeps younger shoppers away from beef, and a recipe from a local creator lowers that risk because the steps and the finished burger are shown before anyone buys.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Partners

  • Linqia
  • Element

Participation mechanic

  • Followers voted for their favourite influencer burger recipe on Beefitarian.com, and each vote triggered a $1 donation from Beefitarian and JBS to The Nashville Food Project, while the winning influencer received a gift card.

Results & Evidence

MetricValue
Potential Impressions1.6M potential impressions
Vs Food Benchmark20%
Positive/Neutral Comments95% of comments
Positive Comments80% positive
Local News Articles14 articles
Influencers7 influencers
Paid Ads6 ads
Donation per Vote$1 per vote

Why Linqia's strategy worked

  1. 1

    A recipe contest with public voting turns each creator into a promoter of their own entry, because influencers who want the win push the vote to their followers, which extends reach past the original posts.

  2. 2

    Tying each vote to a $1 donation for a local food charity gives followers a reason to vote that does not depend on already loving beef, which widens participation among hesitant shoppers.

  3. 3

    Building a food brief around a city's own identity, music in Nashville, gives local creators a story to tell beyond the product, so the recipes carry local meaning and not only a brand message.

  4. 4

    Creator recipes have a second life as paid assets, because content that already carries a creator's voice can be tested and rerun as targeted ads, as Linqia did on Facebook and Instagram.

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