Butterball Talking Turkey on Tik Tok: What’s the Data Play Here?

It's all about zero- and first-party data

In this article:

  • Butterball extends its Turkey Talk line to a new channel in 2021.
  • And so, how is this Thanksgiving different from all others? This year Butterball is on Tik Tok.

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Butterball brand is a staple of the Thanksgiving Holiday. Not only does the brand offer the poultry to be served as the centerpiece of the dinner; it offers tips on how to cook it.

The brand boasts that its “professionally trained turkey experts” have been imparting timely tips on turkey preparation to puzzled cooks via the Turkey Talk-Line since 1981. But they don’t expect today’s cooks to turn to the same channels as their parents and grandparents. That’s why Butterball makes its experts accessible through your choice of phone, text, online chat, email, the Butterball Skill for Amazon Alexa, Facebook, Instagram and, and now Tik Tok. Talk about an omnichannel campaign.

Expanding into a new social media channel is a data-driven strategy. Butterball’s Taste Kitchen surveyed consumers to find out what people would be planning for this year’s Thanksgiving. This is what it found:

  • Celebrations are top of mind: 99% of consumers are planning to celebrate with a Thanksgiving meal, with 85% planning to do so with turkey at the center of their table.
  • Smaller gatherings will return: Nine in ten Americans planning to host Thanksgiving this year are looking forward to a traditional dinner, but one-third of consumers are, again, planning for smaller gatherings.
  • Millennials are stepping up to host: 50% of millennials intend to host this year (traditionally 42%), with 77% of millennials who hosted in 2020 intending to host again this year.
  • Shoppers are planning ahead: Consumers are looking for ways to make their celebrations special, and ways to make the day easier – 84% of hosts are planning the amount of food they will serve a week or more in advance of Thanksgiving.

Of course, there is always the fallback of lasagna, particularly for those who are entertaining vegetarians for Thanksgiving. But if you are planning on turkey, you can now have a very 2021 experience in getting your advice for it on Tik Tok.

If Butterball will be able to gather some zero- and first-party data from the different channels, a smart Customer Data Platform could do wonders with it, empowering CRM Marketing and Acquisition campaigns. Otherwise, it’s just going to be a dropping of the (butter)ball.