Shane Vaughan

Note:  This post originally appeared on Balihoo's old blog on 11/25/09 by Tiffany Schrenk

Once again, it’s that wonderful time of year when the leaves all over our city turn and everyone sets their sites on family functions and good food. And for most of us, the food item taking center stage is Turkey! We’re researching what kind to purchase, how to cook it, what to serve with it, and what to do with the leftovers. And where do you go for this information? More than likely if you’re anything like me, you’re completely forgoing the good ‘ol recipe book or the lengthy call to Grandma and hopping online (no offense- I love my Gram).

And where do you go online? It’s as simple as a matter of preference… or who’s top of mind…right? Little did you know that behind that innocent bird lies a local internet marketing battle for your source on all information turkey. FoodNetwork, Epicurious, and Butterball are attempting to establish themselves as your Online turkey information destination - and make it into your media planning strategy.

Thanksgiving is all about food; it’s the time of year where both the experienced and novice cooks take on the challenge of creating a beautiful meal. It’s the perfect time for these three food giants to earn your brand support. And this year they are going all out.

FoodNetwork seems to be on top of their game this year. They dedicated a full microsite including recipes, menus, and leftover ideas all incorporating their on air talent. As the number one food site for the remainder of the year their goal is to retain those loyal consumers. Additionally, they are putting serious funds towards Search Engine Optimization and closely monitor the most-popular searches online.

Butterball has been a Thanksgiving staple for 55 years. They still receive 100,000 phone calls pertaining to Turkey each November and are reaching more consumers than ever before with “turkey texts”. A large portion of their focus has been a website that offers blogging advice as well as recipes for more than just turkey. Butterball has also stepped into the social media realm with new efforts emerging on Facebook and Twitter.

Epicurious.com has taken a different spin on turkey by adding an iPhone app that has reached nearly 1 million downloads. The site is expecting to see consumers return over and over with additional Thanksgiving questions and stay longer than the average food and recipe site. They are hoping that because of this they will convert these consumers into visiting the site throughout the year.

Here at Balihoo, we continue to reiterate the importance of online presence to the clients we serve. It’s becoming more evident than ever before that in order to compete you have to be available within the space that consumers go to first for research and additional information. Regardless of what industry your business falls within, it’s important to be part of the online community - and particualry to be considered in a media planning strategy. As we’ve seen here even that beloved Thanksgiving turkey has a place in local online marketing. 

Anyway, enough of this…I don’t know about you but all this talk of turkey is making me hungry!