Two beef farming families appear in new films and marketing materials produced by McDonald’s Japan, "to tell the story of Australia’s clean green beef production", and answer the concerns of their customers.
McDonald’s Japan is one of Australian beef’s largest customers, and the company has filmed interactive videos to help rebuild its tarnished reputation in Japan.
Footage looks at the grass-fed pastures that the Corrigan family, which rears Rennylea Angus, raises its cattle on, while the traceability benefits of Australia’s National Livestock Identification System are also highlighted.
The project is part of McDonald’s’ efforts to restore its brand image, which suffered a blow last year when media reported food safety issues at a Shanghai chicken ingredient supplier.
Miwa Yamamoto from McDonald’s Japan said: "The first and upmost priority for McDonald’s was to regain consumer confidence in our food quality, and beef is of course one of the most crucial ingredients for our business.
"We developed highly engaging messages to consumers around our food quality, thanks to strong support and commitment from Australian cattle producers, beef processors and Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA)."
The partnership between MLA and McDonald’s provided logistic and coordination support in Australia as well as materials in the form of new educational DVDs for employees, video diaries targeted towards consumers from Australian cattle producers and meat processors, and media opportunities along the McDonald’s supply chain.
Farmer Lucinda Corrigan said: "We love sharing our farm with visitors both in person and through social media, and talking about our sustainable beef production system, which is based on perennial pastures – both introduced and native perennials."