September 2011 Highlights « Back

Fuel Up to Play 60 in Minnesota

Over the summer, as part of the Minnesota “Fuel Up For Summer Fun” incentive package for Summer Feeding sites, Midwest Dairy offered a HOPSport experience for sites that completed their midpoint survey. The HOPSports system is an interactive dance and activity video designed for large groups.  It is very similar to the popular Dance, Dance Revolution program. The Health and Wellness staff members working with schools are making plans to lend the HOPSports system out this year as a reward for their engagement in the Fuel Up to Play 60 program.

One of the Vikings assets we are able to use in our Fuel Up to Play partnership with the Minnesota Vikings is Viktor, the Vikings mascot.  He made three appearances at the Minnesota State Fair in the Dairy Bar’s Social Media booth to generate interest in dairy and in Fuel Up to Play 60. Viktor posed for photos with guests, which were uploaded to Princess Kay’s Facebook page. Midwest Dairy staff assisted Viktor by handing out Fuel Up to Play 60 wristbands and autographed Viktor photos.

We’ve also begun planning Viktor Assemblies for the new school year. Our contract offers 40 Viktor appearances at qualifying local schools. At next reprint, the Viktor assembly booklet will be updated with Vikings purple and gold background colors and will feature the new, customized Vikings/ Fuel Up to Play 60 logo.

On November 20, Midwest Dairy will host a pre-game brunch and presentation on the plaza at Mall of America Field for Fuel Up to Play 60 key influencers. Staff will share Fuel Up success stories to generate ideas for deeper school engagement. Invited guest speakers will include a Minnesota dairy producer, Princess Kay and a Vikings alumni player. Guests will then attend the Vikings game vs. the Raiders.

Later, on December 4, the Vikings are showcasing Fuel Up to Play 60 at their Play 60 game by offering student leaders (selected by Midwest Dairy) a pre-game, on-field appearance with Viktor. A dairy producer and Princess Kay will accompany the students onto the field. The appearance will be announced on the stadium sound system and will be featured on the Jumbotron. Midwest Dairy staff will film the event and use clips in its Fuel Up to Play 60 publicity outreach.

Other Minnesota Updates

You had a bounty of presence with consumers at the State Fair in St. Paul, which had the third highest attendance on record.  The Dairy Goodness Bar, Milk Stand and Moo Booth all had a lot of activity.  A big thank you to all the producers who lent a hand in making it a successful fair! 

It’s likely that you heard the news that Mary Zaharones of Morrison County was crowned Princess Kay of the Milky Way as the Fair opened.  Congratulations to Mary – she and the other 11 finalists were with us during the Fair and did a terrific job advocating on dairy’s behalf.  One of the new efforts with Princess Kay was to award a classroom visit each day of the fair for people who answered questions on the Facebook page. 

We celebrated the 40th Anniversary of butter sculptor Linda Christensen, and coverage of this milestone garnered at least 12 million media impressions.  At every turn, Linda told people how proud she is to work with Minnesota’s dairy producers. 

We had record sales at both the Dairy Goodness Bar and the Milk Stand,

We also promoted Farmers Feed US at the fair.  This campaign allows Minnesota residents to enter to win a year’s worth of free groceries. Until October 13, consumers can visit www.farmersfeedus.org/mn and register to win one $5,000 grand prize and two $1,000 prizes in free groceries. There have been 38,039 Minnesota registrations so far, and 3,600 Minnesota consumers have opted in for additional information from Minnesota’s farmers during this third phase of Farmers Feed US.  The campaign has 1,138 Facebook “likers,” who have approximately 216,220 friends, and 558 Twitter followers, with approximately 217,620 followers of their own.

Next month we’ll be conducting a Retail Academy for SuperValu personnel, taking them to Wolf Creek Dairy near Northfield for a tour, and exposing them to more information about dairy’s nutrition and distribution.  The Retail Academy is a great program that’s been very successful across the Midwest.

Kathy Skiba, North Branch, is part of Governor Mark Dayton’s trade mission in South Korea this week.  Midwest Dairy Association pays the U.S. Dairy Export Federation membership of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and Kathy’s role during the trip is to gain first-hand knowledge of a market that is projected to become increasingly important to dairy.  You can read about her trip at her Facebook page. 

Laura Weisz, of Hillman, Minn., has been awarded the 2011 National Dairy Shrine/Dairy Management Inc. Milk Marketing $1,500 Scholarship. Eight undergraduate students have earned $1,000 scholarships that are made possible by DMI and NDS to encourage students to pursue careers in dairy product marketing. She’ll be presented with the scholarship next week at World Dairy Expo.