Meat One, the premium brand of Al Shaheer Foods, launched a new campaign in July, aimed at repositioning the brand.

Since debuting seven years ago, Meat One’s tagline ‘Nothing Beats Meat’ established the thought that there is nothing healthier as meat. According to Najiyeh Akbar, Head of Marketing, Al Shaheer Foods, the brand’s initial objective was to establish that meat, thanks to the proteins, essential vitamins and minerals it contains, is a nutritious food, essential for an active and healthy lifestyle – and thereby counter the perception that eating meat is unhealthy. As Akbar put it, the ‘hygienic versus unhygienic’ factor depends on where the meat is sourced and how it is handled.

According to Akbar, having established the thought that Meat One offers high-quality meat, the brand has now repositioned itself with a new tagline ‘The Meat Experts’. The aim here is to communicate the message that Meat One offers expert solutions to anyone looking to buy hygienic meat. The specialised process used by the brand ensures that nutrients are locked in the meat, making it wholesome. The brand sells more than 260 cuts of meat and includes chicken, beef, mutton and seafood – with mutton as the top performing category, contributing almost 35% to the sales mix.

It is pertinent to mention here that despite being the ninth largest producer and consumer of meat (source: USDA 2013), the conditions of the meat markets in Pakistan do not comply with international standards. In fact, it has long been a predicament for Pakistanis looking to buy top quality hygienic meat. This situation is far worse in the cities, where butcher shops operate under unhygienic conditions, compounded by the fact that the meat is transported in open trucks which are major breeding grounds for contamination.

Meat One sells more than 260 cuts of meat and includes chicken, beef, mutton and seafood – with mutton as the top performing category, contributing almost 35% to the sales mix.

Despite, or perhaps, because of these unsatisfactory conditions, changes are taking place in the meat retail sector. Consumers are increasingly demanding clean and hygienic food products across every category and as a result, new players are entering the retail sector. Given these market dynamics, the prime purpose of the campaign was to boost brand awareness, increase market share and communicate the range of products on offer. Meat One competes with both structured retailers (Aghas, Al-Fateh, Alpha, Hyperstar, Imtiaz, and METRO) as well as unstructured retailers.

Whereas previous campaigns highlighted the functional benefits of hygienic meat, the recent one, according to Akbar, has broken the stereotype whereby raw meat is looked upon as being unappealing. The underlying message here is that raw meat can be as appetising as when it is cooked – provided you buy it from Meat One.

“Our company is synonymous with innovation and this has been the foundation of every project initiated by Meat One. We believe authenticity and relevance are the basis of the success of any campaign,” says Akbar.

The campaign was promoted on digital, in-store as well as on cinema. This was the first time that Meat One used cinema as a medium to launch their campaign because, as Akbar explains: “we felt cinema would do justice to the commercial by allowing audiences to really relish the experience of watching a ‘food drama’ unveil on the big screen.”

Unlike other food brands which went abroad to shoot high-quality TVCs and videos for their product, Meat One’s video was shot by See’me Productions in Karachi and directed by Zaeem Asad.

The campaign was handled by IAL Saatchi & Saatchi, and Nida Haider, their Head of Strategy says, “it was all about creating food drama and glorify meat as the star product.”

According to Haider, so much skill and knowledge go into making a truly amazing meal and the idea was to highlight the appetite appeal of meat as well as display the range of cuts available at Meat One. “When you get fresh meat of the highest quality, it enhances the look and the taste of the dish you prepare,” adds Haider.

The campaign targets anyone with an appreciation of meat that is hygienic and appetising, although the primary audience are proactive and health-conscious mothers who want to buy safe meat products for their families. “Meat One’s commitment to health and safety has been empowering mothers to provide a better life to their families,” says Haider. According to Akbar, the response was “phenomenal and we achieved a total of 1.2 million impressions.” The campaign had 252,976 views on GDN/YouTube and 469,572 views on Meat One’s Facebook page.

Looking ahead, Akbar says that, “the biggest challenge is living up to our customers’ expectations.” To this end, the animal procurement department of Meat One adheres to the highest standards in procuring the finest breeds. Furthermore, the parent company, Al Shaheer Foods have also gone into cattle farming (cows only) – although this is still in a budding stage. The company are also planning to venture into the frozen and processed food category soon and in doing so, create yet another benchmark in the food industry.