Objective

The primary goal of the Porkabilities® Challenge campaign was to drive significant brand awareness and increase consumer engagement with Prairie Fresh® pork, positioning it as versatile and flavorful. We sought to achieve this through dynamic influencer activations in select Designated Market Areas (DMAs) where Prairie Fresh products are distributed. With our eyes set on connecting with two key audiences, we crafted a strategy that would resonate with both Homemade Moms and Prep & Go Men.

1. Increase Brand Awareness and Consumer Engagement: Our objective was to elevate awareness of Prairie Fresh pork by leveraging the credibility and reach of social media influencers. By amplifying their voices, we aimed to capture the attention of target audiences and foster meaningful consumer connections.
2. Highlight Pork as Flavorful and Versatile: Prairie Fresh pork isn’t just another meat option — it’s flavorful, versatile and enjoyed in a variety of dishes. Our goal was to highlight these qualities, demonstrating how easily it can enhance meals and inspiring our target audiences to try it in their own kitchens. 
3. Inspire Product Trial: The campaign aimed to motivate consumers to cook with Prairie Fresh pork by sparking excitement and creativity in the kitchen. Partnering with like-minded influencers helped us convey these themes, inspiring consumers to act and make pork an ingredient they wanted to try.
4. Efficiently Reach and Connect With Target Audiences: We optimized the campaign for Instagram, a top platform for influencer marketing, by carefully selecting social influencers whose followers matched our key demographics:
   1. Homemade Moms (Women, avg. age 38) — Busy with family life, they seek convenient yet creative homemade meal solutions that are fresh and personal for their families.
   2. Prep & Go Men (Males, avg. age 34) — Focused on quick, practical meal ideas, they turn to social media for inspiration to prep dishes that are both efficient and impressive.

By leveraging influencers who naturally align with these demographics, we ensured the campaign spoke directly to the needs and interests of our core audiences.

Strategy

The Porkabilities® Challenge redefined influencer marketing by putting the audience in the driver’s seat — allowing them to shape the content rather than passively consume it. Instead of simply having influencers create and share recipes, we designed a campaign in which followers directly influenced the ingredients — making the followers active participants in the creative process.

Here’s how we brought this strategy to life:

1. Influencer Selection — We handpicked four influencers who embodied the characteristics of our two key target groups: Homemade Moms and Prep & Go Men. These creators were skilled in recipe development and had highly engaged followers, ensuring authentic interactions and content that felt organic. 
2. Audience-driven Engagement — Instead of merely presenting finished recipe videos, we took engagement to the next level by involving the audience in the process. Influencers introduced the campaign via Instagram stories, inviting their followers to vote on ingredients through interactive polls. This level of involvement encouraged excitement and anticipation, with followers returning to see how their votes determined the final dish. By offering multiple touch points and chances for interaction, we deepened consumer investment in the influencers’ content creation. 
3. Geotargeting & White Listing — To ensure maximum impact in key distribution markets for Prairie Fresh pork, we utilized geotargeted promotions. We also white listed the final recipe videos directly from each influencer, making each video feel like a natural endorsement rather than a traditional branded ad. This approach enhanced credibility and ensured the content reached the right audience while maintaining authenticity. 

Results

The Porkabilities® Challenge campaign delivered outstanding results, exceeded industry benchmarks and demonstrated the power of community-driven, influencer-led marketing.

A modest media budget of just $5,000 resulted in:

• Over 1 million impressions — 25% above the campaign goal.
• An average engagement rate of 1,800% above the industry benchmark for influencers within the same audience size.
• A significant lift in brand study respondents’ perception of Prairie Fresh® pork as both flavorful and versatile.

Media