Overview
Weave Johnsonville brats into American culture by introducing the brand to key influencers and driving media coverage.
Objective
Through and on-going news bureau and special events, create opportunities for consumers, media and influencers to experience Johnsonville brats.
Strategy
Build a steady drumbeat of news with seasonal stories, tips and recipes. By partnering with key spokespeople already aligned with Johnsonville, leverage their authenticity to drive media awareness and create memorable consumer interaction.
Program Elements -- Creating the Brat News Network
Johnsonville Sausage was looking for a way to put its delicious, Austrian bratwurst on the national map. After years of successfully growing its business to be the leader in the category, the company was successful, while also being one of the best-kept secrets in the U.S.
· Brat News Network: We developed the Brat News Network to give the company its just desserts. The BNN is an aggressive media outreach strategy, which includes enlisting every possible media outreach tactic. From top tier media spokesperson and grilling guru Steven Raichlen, to satellite media tours, desk-side briefings, messaging, training, “Make Summer Sizzle” press kit, “Tailgating Tips and Techniques” outreach, and a steady drumbeat of pitching, the Brat News Network is taking the humble, coarse-ground and highly seasoned sausage to new “links”!
· Johnsonville Bratwurst Tailgating Hall of Fame Recipe Contest: Tailgating season is a bratwurst’s time to shine. Fans from across the nation hit parking lots before each game with time-tested favorite recipes. In fact, according to a survey of more than 3,000 tailgaters across America by www.tailgating.com, 71 percent of Americans tailgate at least six times per season. In fall 2004 Boomer Esiason, legendary NFL Quarterback and CBS Radio Monday Night Football Announcer, teamed up with world renown Johnsonville Brats to search for America’s favorite bratwurst tailgate recipes and grilling tips. And, each week during nationally broadcast Monday Night Football games, Esiason inducts one winner into the “Johnsonville Bratwurst Tailgating Hall of Fame.” Each winner received a year’s supply of Johnsonville brats and is eligible to compete for the title of MVB—Most Valuable Bratwurst.
The grand prize winner, to be announced on or around January 15, 2005, will receive the “World’s Ultimate Tailgate Party” with the Johnsonville Big Taste Grill rolling up to the winner’s hometown during the professional football championship game in February and hosting an all-expense paid tailgate party for their friends, family and neighbors. Johnsonville’s Big Taste Grill is a converted semi truck sporting the world’s largest grill weighing in at 53,000 pounds and 65 feet long. The grill can cook an amazing 2,500 brats an hour. For each winning recipe or tip, Johnsonville makes a donation of $5,000 to the Boomer Esiason Foundation, with a pledge of $200,000 total to the Foundation.
· Pentagon Brat Festival – A day of brats and music: Johnsonville sausage loaded up its Big Taste Grill and headed out to the Pentagon on Oct. 7, 2004 for a traditional Wisconsin “brat fry.” Together with Miss America, Miss Virginia and Washington Redskin Cheerleaders, the sausage company set out to raise $25,000 for the Pentagon Memorial Fund by selling $5.00 lunches to the employees of the Pentagon. The Pentagon Memorial Fund is currently campaigning to raise $17.5 million to build a beautiful memorial park and $10 million for an endowment to maintain it for future generations.
Results
· More than 1,000 placements, including ESPN Cold Pizza, FOX & Friends, WB11, New York, Woman’s World, RedBook, Fresno Bee, WTXF-Fox (Philadelphia), Popular Mechanics
· First time ever media briefings with top tier consumer magazines including Woman’s Day, Country Living, First for Women
· Coverage in more than 7 non-traditional brat markets, including New York, Boston, California, Florida, Washington DC, Denver, Seattle
· Total advertising equivalency: more than $685,000
· Reached more than 69,000,000 consumers nationwide! 
