|
(Washington, D.C.) The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) will present its SmartMarketing 2004 conference, this year's only dairy-specific marketing meeting, on March 16-18, at the Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans. Sessions will focus on three major marketing areas: Dairy's Weight Loss Connection, the Foodservice Channel and Consumer Behavior. The program will also feature "Hall of Innovation" exhibitions and the announcement of the winners of the prestigious 2004 Achieving Excellence Marketing Awards. "SmartMarketing 2004 will be the first in-depth look at how dairy processors can leverage their own brands with the research that demonstrates dairy calcium's role in weight loss and weight management," says IDFA Marketing Senior Manager Victor Zaborsky. "There will also be sessions on the growing foodservice sector, school milk opportunities and maximizing processors' media dollars." SmartMarketing 2004 kicks off with a keynote address from Jared Fogel, national spokesperson for Subway and Richard Coad, Creative Director for Publicis. Jared Fogel, known to most Americans as simply "Jared," will share his now famous weight loss story. Richard Coad, former creative director for Publicis & Hal Riney and creator of the "Jared" campaign, will explain how Jared helped Subway become the largest franchiser in the United States, edging-out McDonald's in 2003. Their insights may help dairy marketers better leverage the weight loss and dairy connection. The first afternoon will be devoted to the topic of marketing weight loss claims. The afternoon will begin with an overview of the entire weight loss category and will examine how companies like Weight Watchers, Michelob and KFC are leveraging this claim in their advertising. Then, a presentation in layman's terms will explain the research that makes the compelling argument for calcium's connection to weight management. Next, the conference will explore consumer attitudes of a dairy weight loss claim. Finally, dairy processors will learn how they can obtain a license to make weight loss claims with their products. The Foodservice Channel Development session track will focus on dairy's role in business and industry and quick serve restaurants, and improving milk's role in schools. One session will focus on the new initiative by the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), Dairy Management, Inc. (DMI) and the American School Food Service Association (ASFSA) to improve school milk, called "The New Look of School Milk." The program emphasizes several options for processors and schools to create long- and short-term solutions to some of the most persistent problems hurting milk consumption by students. The third session track, Consumer Behavior, will examine consumer attitudes toward dairy health benefits, like preventing high blood pressure, osteoporosis and possibly even colon cancer. One session will help dairy processors navigate the sometimes confusing regulatory landscape of health claims to determine what can be said on packages, on point-of-sale materials and in advertising. As a bonus to conference attendees, the "Hall of Innovations" will exhibit the latest dairy products, supplies and equipment geared toward new product marketing. "We expect dairy marketers will get a few great new ideas just by visiting these exhibits," says Zaborsky. In addition, on Wednesday, March 17, IDFA will announce the winners of the 2004 Achieving Excellence Marketing Awards. The awards, co-sponsored by IDFA and Dairy Field Magazine, honor the best in packaging, marketing, point-of-sale materials, public relations, new products and advertising among other categories for the dairy industry. All entries will be on display during the SmartMarketing conference, but the winning entries will not be identified until the luncheon celebration. A complete agenda and a registration form for SmartMarketing can be found online under the "Meetings and Training" section at www.idfa.org. For more information, contact Tanika Manning at 202/220-3557, tmanning@idfa.org.
# # #
IDFA is the Washington, DC-based organization representing the nation's dairy processing and manufacturing industries and their suppliers. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). Its 500-plus members range from large multinational corporations to single-plant operations, and represent more than 85% of the total volume of milk, cultured products, cheese, and ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States — an estimated $70-billion a year industry. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.
|
||||
