Consumers have been gobbling up Butterball turkey for decades, and they’re thankful for the company’s connection to its customers.
Al Jansen, Butterball’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, joins us to talk about Thanksgiving traditions, the famous Turkey Talk-Line and sharing holiday stories.
“Our purpose as a company is that we exist to help people pass love on because we believe, connected with our core value of togetherness, that you are around the table together, whether it's on a Tuesday night or it's on Thanksgiving,” Jansen says. “Making a meal for each other, passing a plate — these are acts of love. And what we do is help enable that to happen.”
Sharing holiday traditions
Just like sharing food, most people share stories and traditions around Thanksgiving. That’s why Butterball partnered with StoryCorps Studios, a nonprofit devoted to sharing the stories of Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs.
Together, they created the National Thanksgiving Archive, which has more than 700,000 stories so far. “It's great to have people sit down and start talking just on something easy like the Thanksgivings they enjoyed together,” Jansen says. “Everybody’s got a story. We have 700,000, but there are tens of millions of people that could tell a great Thanksgiving story.”
Talking about the Turkey Talk-Line
According to Butterball’s data, about 86% of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, and three-quarters of them are serving a whole turkey. That can come with a whole lot of anxiety — especially for first-time hosts.
That’s where the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line comes in. For more than 40 years, people have connected with the hotline to ask questions about cooking and hosting. Each holiday season, they receive about 80,000 to 100,000 inquiries.
The Talk-Line is key for Butterball to build connections with its customers, Jansen says. “We score very high on trust, and how do you build trust? Well, I'm there when you need me. You could call us, and we're going to be there to help you. And a lot of what we do in those calls is less culinary and more psychological. There's a lot of anxiety. There's a lot of stress, and we're there for you.”
Jansen’s approach to marketing
Jansen shared how the sausage gets made when it comes to marketing turkey. His strategy is to assemble, motivate and lead an all-star team.
“I've enjoyed working with the marketing team to kinda let 'em cook, right?” he says. "Let's set some strategy. Let's align on some objectives. And then let you do what you do. I'm not as good at marketing as everybody in the marketing department, but I think I'm pretty good at helping bring folks together, get them aligned around a goal, and help celebrate.”
Tune into the full episode to hear more about how Jansen and the Butterball team make food a celebration, connect with their customers and find joy in storytelling.
Episode Chapters
(00:02:45) The Butterball team
- The power of teamwork
- Variables in Butterball’s business
(00:04:06) Butterball’s core value of togetherness
- Storytelling opportunities for Thanksgiving
- Butterball’s commitment to creating connection through food
- Capturing stories with the National Thanksgiving Archive
(00:08:33) Talking about the Turkey Talk-Line
- What inspired the Turkey Talk-Line
- The staggering amount of inquiries they receive
- Building trust with your consumers
- The No.1 anxiety Thanksgiving hosts face
(00:14:17) The joys and challenges of marketing
- Leading a marketing department
(00:16:50) Jansen’s best career advice
- What he has learned about leadership
Resources:
- butterball.com
- storycorps.org
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- Find more episodes at retailgetsreal.com
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