The summer is finally getting started -- the sun is coming out and Canadians are firing up their barbecues!

The Beef Information Centre (BIC) is helping Canadians make the most of their summer grilling season -- with recipes, information and cooking tips as well as offers from some great barbecue partners.

Heinz (Lea & Perrins®), Safeway Canada, Dairy Farmers of Canada and Canadian Living- are all working with BIC to increase beef purchases this summer. The promotions will focus on the priority cuts tri-tip, flank and brisket as well as source ground beef. These priority products are identified by BIC for promotion as they can add significantly to carcass values.

The first of these promotions is the latest edition of the Make it Beef booklet -- "What's new for Bar-b-cue". The booklet has special Quick Response (QR) codes that link consumers directly to cooking videos through their smart phones. Lea & Perrins and HP sauces also have links to their sites and more recipes and resources. The information provided in this booklet also includes the latest on the nutritional benefits of beef in the diet.

Recipes for the booklet were developed through the Canadian Living magazine test kitchen and are featured with Canadian Livings Tested 'til Perfect branding. Over 1.2 million booklets were sent directly to consumers through the following subscriber magazine issues: Dairy Farmers of Canada All you Need is Cheese, Readers Digest (national) and Canadian Living (Alberta and Ontario). Booklets will also be available in Safeway stores across the country in combination with a coupon promotion on the shelf with Heinz HP Sauce.

A new partnership was formed with the Dairy Farmers of Canada and promotion of cheese in two of the recipes in Make it Beef will be reciprocated with beef's presence in the "All You Need is Cheese" magazine.

The strategic partnerships for this program doubled the number of consumers reached at no additional cost. The program was able to reach and influence the beef purchase decisions of 2.86 million consumers in total. Reader survey results estimate that 87 per cent of readers will make/intend to make at least one recipe, with each recipe representing at least 1lb of beef sold.

This summer also sees the launch of an integrated social media campaign. The "Who Rules the Grill" contests include a blog recipe contest, a twitter smack-talk contest and video and Flickr photo contests. All the details about "Who Rules the Grill" can be found on the Beef Blog.

The entire summer grilling campaign has received extensive print and broadcast coverage including a Wall Street Journal article and an upcoming segment on CTV's national morning show 'Canada AM' on June 24.

Judy Nelson, chair of the BIC committee and a cow-calf producer from Lundbreck, AB, says the promotion is meeting the goals of beef producers -- to increase beef sales. "We are very excited about this summer campaign. There are so many ways for consumers to be engaged, and the campaign is working towards maximizing carcass value by focusing on priority products such as tri-tip, flank and brisket, and the source grinds."

BIC's efforts to maximize demand for Canadian beef and optimize the value of Canadian beef products is funded by cattle producers through the National Beef Check-Off, which in turn makes it possible to access beef industry market development funds provided by the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta.

For more information go to www.bic.cattle.ca

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For more information contact:
Annemarie Pedersen
Beef Information Centre
P: 403-275-5890 ext. 310
E: apedersen@beefinfo.org