Dive Brief:

• The National Cattlemen's Beef Association's "Beef. It's What's For Dinner" platform has debuted a new digital campaign promoting beef consumption with the tagline "Keep Sizzlin'," according to a press release. The campaign promotes multiple ways to prepare the meat for dinner, including grilling, smoking, stir-fry, sous vide and cast iron.
• The refreshed campaign is based on the original three-minute "Sizzle" video, which has more than 2 million YouTube views with an average view time of 2 minutes and 21 seconds. The new videos also encourage consumers visit the cooking lessons section on BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com.
• New "Keep Sizzlin'" videos feature the slogan "Nicely done, beef," in a bid to attract an older millennial crowd, per the release. The idea is to play up beef's popularity among consumers for its flavor by focusing on how it sizzles and the many ways to enjoy it. The brand will continue this messaging throughout the year, dropping new creative around the holidays.

Dive Insight:

The best way to market food is to play up its savory qualities and to make consumers' taste buds water. These ads aim to do just that, offering a visual and auditory experience that stimulates an autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). Growing interest in ASMR videos has taken it from a niche online culture to a tactic used by several brands to engage a dedicated audience, many of whom are millennials, the beef association's target audience for this campaign.

Applebee's recently created an hour-long ASMR video featuring the sounds of a variety of meats sizzling, with a montage of ribs, shrimp, chicken and steak being grilled. The idea was to help people feel calm in response to Gallup research suggesting that 79% of Americans report being stressed sometimes or frequently during the day.

One thing many people stress about is what to cook for family dinners. Along with the calming effects of ASMR, the new beef ads offer an educational component by giving consumers cooking lessons and instructional advice on how to prepare beef to bring out its best flavor.

The YouTube stats from the previous "Sizzle" video suggest that the messaging channel is working as a viable way to connect with the brand's audience. Targeting millennials with video has a proven track record with the channel, as millennials generally prefer YouTube two times that to traditional TV, according to ComScore.

However, beef sellers have the challenge to push meat to an audience who is abstaining from meat consumption more than other groups. According to a recent survey from CPG firm Acosta, 26% of millennials are vegetarians or vegans.