Sports partnerships draw crowds to interact with dairy

Dairy and athletics make a great combination. Dairy products, especially milk, provide excellent nutritional benefits and hydration and are popular for post-exercise recovery. In addition to promoting dairy’s nutritional benefits, Midwest Dairy highlights dairy’s sustainability story and connects consumers with the farmers behind the products. Midwest Dairy partners with athletes and sports teams to engage enthusiastic fans on their home turf.

Midwest Dairy partnered with the St. Paul Saints this summer. As the season drew to a close, the partnership continued to drive home dairy messaging to baseball fans through in-game activations.

During the Sept. 19 game, Rachel Visser, the 71st Princess Kay of the Milky Way, threw out the first pitch. She later gave a live radio interview discussing her first month as Princess Kay and highlighted her work as the goodwill ambassador for Minnesota’s dairy farmers. Dairy sustainability messaging aired through live ads during the game. The roughly 6,000 attendees at this Undeniably Dairy game included a University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences section sponsored by Midwest Dairy, bringing additional focus to the Gen Z demographic interested in learning more about dairy’s sustainability story.

Midwest Dairy and Missouri Farmers Care teamed up again this year. During the June 23 St. Louis Cardinals game, which attracted 37,492 fans, dairy farmer Bethany Bloss from Sarcoxie, Missouri, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Cardinals faced the San Francisco Giants. MFC recently published a profile article about Bloss’ advocacy for animal health and shared it on Facebook.

During Bloss’ first pitch, a public announcement showcased Missouri farming families’ pride in caring for their animals, producing healthy and delicious food, and engaging in sustainable practices. To commemorate their gameday experience, the first 10,000 fans ages 15 and younger received a complimentary growth poster featuring Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar. The giveaway was one of several components of the 2024 Race to the Plate campaign focused on building consumer trust. Following the opening ceremonies, Midwest Dairy hosted dairy farmer guests and online influencer friends in a Busch Stadium suite.

Another Midwest Dairy partner is the University of Minnesota. Midwest Dairy had a robust presence at the U of M football game Sept. 21. To build trust with Gen Z, checkoff promoted sustainability, cow care and nutrition awareness with Golden Gophers fans. The U of M hosted a Fan Fest in the Gopher Garden with booths offering fans games, swag and other treats. Midwest Dairy used “Gonna Need Milk for That” signage, swag and an engaging trivia game with a Plinko board to attract tailgaters to the booth. Midway through the pre-game festivities, a flash rainstorm broke out, bringing people together under tents and markedly increasing demand for “Gonna Need Milk for That” drying towels. Overall, the Undeniably Dairy tent engaged approximately 600 consumers.

During the game, Undeniably Dairy messaging was also displayed on the big screen, accompanied by live ads about dairy sustainability. With over 52,000 fans in attendance, this message reached the 10th-largest crowd in Huntington Bank Stadium’s history.

Lastly, Midwest Dairy was proud to be a part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Husker Mania. Husker Mania is part of Big Red Welcome, an event that welcomes students back to campus. The campus recreation center organizes this event so students can learn more about intramural sports and activities. As a Husker sponsor, Midwest Dairy was able to have a table at the event, where a life-size dairy game, Undeniably Dairy’s Dairy Dash, could be played. The game involved a pair of students playing the roles of a dairy cow and a dairy farmer, competing in four challenges representing cow care. These challenges showed how dairy farmers keep cows comfortable, fed, milked and cared for. Approximately 1,800 students attended this event. Students were lined up the whole night waiting to play, watching others play and learning more about the dairy industry. Dairy ambassadors were a great help with peer-to-peer interactions. Midwest Dairy also used the Undeniably Dairy Dash game during the first Nebraska football game of the season. The spin wheel was a big hit at the tailgate, allowing fans to learn more about dairy.

The fun at football games did not stop there. As a Nebraska State Dairy Association five-star partner, Midwest Dairy was invited to participate in the Nebraska Dairy Tailgate held before the Nebraska Cornhuskers/Northern Iowa Panthers football game Sept. 14. The tailgate allowed Midwest Dairy staff to share various resources with dairy farmers, explaining the checkoff program’s work in research, trust, the Huskers partnership, the Adopt A Cow program and other helpful information. Also available were Undeniably Dairy gifts such as cow print bandanas and clear bags that could be sported at the game. In addition to plenty of food and drinks, there was excellent networking and engagement among the dairy farmers, advocates and industry leaders. Over 75 farm families and their friends participated in the tailgate.

Volleyball is a major attraction in Nebraska, and Midwest Dairy collaborates closely with a program to engage with consumers. In early September, Midwest Dairy sponsored a Husker volleyball match. Before the game, dairy farmers and a dairy ambassador distributed Undeniably Dairy merchandise and pizza to the students and shared information about their work on a dairy farm. Public address systems shared dairy facts throughout the game, and the Undeniably Dairy logo was prominently displayed on the video board. Midwest Dairy sponsored a serving contest, awarding “If you want a soft serve, go get ice cream” T-shirts to the winners, while additional shirts were thrown out to the crowd. This interactive experience entertained game attendees, with dairy taking center stage throughout the night.