Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has launched their Greatest Butchers on Your Block campaign, led collaboratively by shopper agency, The Mix Agency, and communications agency, The Connect Agency.

The comprehensive campaign which encourages people to support their local independent butchers, and understand more about one of Australia’s oldest trades, launched this month.

As part of the campaign, a major component to drive foot traffic back into independent butchers is an exclusive in-store national promotion at participating butcher stores giving customers the opportunity to win a Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games VIP experience.

This exclusive experience includes return flights for two, accommodation, tickets to the Opening Ceremony and four sporting events, plus $2,000 spending money.

To amplify the campaign, and share the stories of some of Australia’s greatest butchers, TV personality and self-proclaimed ‘crap housewife’ Jessica Rowe was secured as campaign storyteller. Jessica embarked on a nationwide tour to interview 12 of Australia’s top butchers in order to put butchers everywhere back on the map within their local communities. The interviews were produced by The Connect Agency, and filmed and edited by Motel production company.

In addition to developing and leading the campaign and instore promotion, The Mix Agency produced all campaign assets, including shooting recipes to feature in a free cookbook, The Greatest Butcher Recipes, with recipes provided by butchers in the video campaign, and additional top Aussie butchers. They are currently available at all participating butchers.

Along with hosting The Greatest Butcher on your Block content series, Jessica also shared her experiences via media interviews and appearances. From bustling Zetland in Sydney to rural Mundaring in Western Australia, Jessica learnt amazing tales of resilience, family history and of course meat, from butchers. She also learnt how to finally cook a steak properly, prepare tasty, quick meals for her family, and how to be more creative when it comes to meat.

MLA National Customer Development Manager, Scott Cameron, said the Australian domestic market is the largest market for Australian beef and sheep meat so it’s vitally important that consumers support their local meat providers.

“We have just under 50,000 beef, lamb, veal and goat producers across Australia,” he said. “They make up a major segment of the 172,000 people employed in the red meat industry across all sectors of the supply chain from farm to retail. We hope this campaign with Jessica brings a smile to people’s faces during this time and reminds them of the rich and proud meat history we have in this country.”

The Mix Agency and The Connect Agency felt that Jessica was the perfect choice of storyteller for the campaign given her warmth, relatability and well-documented challenges when it comes to cooking for her family.

“Many people know through my website Crap Housewife, that I’m a shocking cook who is more than a little domestically challenged!” said Jessica. “I’ve had the best time meeting these amazing butchers who have taught me how simple it can be to cook meat! I’ve also discovered that no matter where you live in Australia, there’s always a fabulous butcher who can share a story with you as well as give you straight forward suggestions for a delicious meal.”