Excel^® Brand Pushes Genuinely Better Education Excel Arms Employees with 52 Ways
2006-07-07

WICHITA, Kan. – Cargill Meat Solutions has mounted a bold information campaign to keep its Excel® brand top-of-mind with customers and employees.

Cargill Meat Solutions repositioned the Excel brand, its former company name, in 2005 as a brand of beef and pork products. Today, the brand represents 85 percent of the company’s beef and pork business. As one of the most recognized and respected names in the industry, the Excel brand has a rich heritage. Now its new tag line, Genuinely Better™, moves the brand into the spotlight by calling out the innovations as well as the history behind the brand.

The campaign was launched with a Web site, genuinelybetter.com. Each week, the Web site features a new fact that also shows up in staff members’ e-mail inboxes. These facts are called “The Ways,” and they help illustrate ways the people, processes and traditions of the Excel brand strive to be Genuinely Better. Employees can offer up their own “Ways,” and are encouraged to share the Web site with customers to create dialogue.

“We’re making it simple for everyone to know what ’Genuinely Better’ means,” explains Misty High, group brand manager. “Cargill Meat Solutions has invested more than $1 billion toward meat science research, technology and infrastructure in the last 10 years.”

“We feel great about the advances we’ve made, and this information campaign is an exciting way to educate those close to the brand,” continues High. “It’s time to spread the word about what differentiates our product.”

The campaign is innovative, according to High, because it encourages everyone at Cargill Meat Solutions to identify specific ways they strive to offer a better experience for their customers. “When we understand it, we not only own it, we start applying ‘Genuinely Better’ to all our activities. We take it on as an attitude and responsibility,” says High. “And when we share in this with our customers, he or she feels confident about the product and our relationship and shares our enthusiasm.”

It’s branding from the inside out. It’s what makes this campaign different from the standard information-in-a-brochure for employees to hand out to customers.

“So many companies don’t even bother to communicate information through the entire organization,” says Brenda Smith-Pirkle, vice president Human Resources. “Companies that make employee engagement a priority get buy-in. That buy-in translates to enthusiasm, and that will compel the staff to make sure our customer care continues to provide a ‘Genuinely Better’ experience.”

There will be a total of 52 ways, running through March 2007. The next steps for the Excel brand marketing campaign will include a customer communications campaign, set to launch later this year.

Excel® Fresh Meats is a brand of beef and pork products that Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation markets to its worldwide customer base of retail and foodservice customers. The Excel brand represents 85 percent of Cargill Meat Solutions’ beef and pork offerings.

Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation is one of the largest fresh, frozen and value-added beef, pork and turkey suppliers in the country. The business is a subsidiary of Cargill, Incorporated, an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. With 149,000 employees in 63 countries, Cargill is committed to using its knowledge and experience to collaborate with customers to help them succeed. For more information, visit www.cargillmeatsolutions.com and www.cargill.com.