California Milk Advisory Board
Teaching Note
This case examines the integrated marketing communications program developed by the
California Milk Advisory Board on behalf of the California Cheese industry. It focuses on the
“Happy Cows” campaign created by the Deutsch LA advertising agency for the CMAB as well as
the effective use of other promotional tools that support the award winning advertising. These
successful initiatives have created broad awareness and dramatically increased sales of
The case can also be used toward the beginning of the course to provide an overview of a
successful IMC program or toward the end of the course as a summary of how various IMC tools
are used synergistically to support an overall strategy. Students are introduced to the “Happy
Cows” campaign in the opening vignette to Chapter 9 which focuses on the creative strategy for
the humorous ads and how it has created a successful bond between consumers and Real
California Cheese. There are also career profiles in Chapter 9 for Eric Hirshberg, the Executive
Creative Director at Deutsch LA who helped develop the ad campaign, and Nancy Fletcher who
is the Vice President of Communications for the CMAB and manages the public relations
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Discussion Questions
1. Analyze the “Happy Cows” campaign that was developed for the California Milk Advisory
Board to promote Real California Cheese from an integrated marketing communications
perspective. Why do you think the campaign has been so successful?
The “Happy Cows” campaign uses a variety of IMC tools to create awareness of, and preference
for, Real California Cheese. Advertising through various media including television, radio, print,
outdoor and online is a major component of the campaign. However, the web site also plays an
integral role as it includes links to the commercials as well as cheese recipes, nutritional
information, interactive games, promotional offers and a merchandise store. Other important
The “Happy Cows” campaign has been so successful because it is a fully integrated program
that connects with consumers at a variety of touch points and does an outstanding job of creating
brand awareness and preference for Real California Cheese. The tagline for the campaign, “Great
Cheese comes from Happy Cows. Happy Cows come from California,” provides a very strong
creative platform around which the IMC program has been developed. From a creative
2. What was the role and importance of the Real California Cheese certification mark in
implementing the positioning and IMC program elements? How and where was it
implemented? Do you think it made a difference to the program?
The Real California Cheese certification mark was created for the industry as a unifying symbol
that provided synergy for all promotional efforts. When consumers see it in one context, it draws
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3. Discuss the role of advertising in establishing the Real California Cheese brand personality?
What were the constraints the advertising agency had to work around in developing the
campaign? How would you describe the personality that was created? What are the pros and
cons of the advertising approach? Can the campaign be continued indefinitely? If not, how
might it be changed or adapted going forward?
The humorous “Happy Cows” ads have played an important role in creating a brand personality
for Real California Cheese as they create an emotional bond between consumers and the product.
The agency decided that rather than focusing on the cheese, the campaign would revolve around
the idea that California cheese is better because it comes from happy cows. Deutsch’s creative
The constraints on the development of Real California Cheese advertising include:
• That the advertising cannot showcase any one brand, so none are featured
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stories, or reverse misperceptions. These issues must be communicated explicitly to the
advertising agency creative department before they start to develop the advertising.
The pros and cons of using humor to create an affectionate bond with consumers versus hard–
sell, product attribute focused advertising can be discussed. The brand personality created for
Real California Cheese is fun and loveable. The advertising makes people smile and feel good
4. What role does consumer promotion play in generating trial and awareness of Real California
Cheese? How do the consumer promotion tactics reinforce or supplement other marketing
elements such as advertising, trade promotion, or public relations?
The CMAB uses a variety of consumer promotion tools including sampling, coupons, and
premiums. The role of coupons and sampling in generating trial and awareness for the wide range
of California cheeses can be discussed, as well as how consumer promotion has more effectively
taken the place of traditional in-store merchandising. The importance of sampling should be
highlighted, as it generates trial among consumers who otherwise might not try various types of
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5. Discuss the role of public relations in the CMAB’s integrated marketing communications
program? What type of press coverage and stories could be generated about Real California
Cheese? What were the different public relations angles that were used to generate the
interest of the different media?
The objectives of the public relations campaign for the CMAB are to convince the various
constituents including consumers, retailers, food professionals, restaurants, and the food media
(magazines, newspapers, trade publications and television stations) that California produces high
The different types of press coverage, with correspondingly different public relations angles,
should be discussed. These include the following:
• Recipe-related stories that are sent to newspapers and food magazines
A third leg of the public relations program has been the “influencer” program which has included
cheese tastings for chefs, culinary professionals and the food media to create greater familiarity
with individual products, and collateral materials or brochures such as “Entertaining with
Cheese” and “Wine and Cheese Pairings” that are distributed through high-end specialty wine
and cheese shops, as well as offered online.
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6. What has been the role of the Real California Cheese website? How does it reinforce or
support the other parts of the integrated marketing communications program?
The home page of the Real California Cheese website, which is shown in Exhibit 7 of the case,
should be used for this portion of the discussion as it shows the various sections of the site which
include current commercials; recipes to encourage product usage; information regarding where to
purchase Real California Cheeses; product coupons and Real California Cheese merchandise (T-
shirts, mugs, aprons with the logo); dairy visit information, including a map of all the state’s
7. Which marketing metrics did the CMAB use to evaluate their IMC program? Are there any
others you feel they should focus on? Which do you feel are most important?
There are a range of metrics that are used to determine the effectiveness of the CMAB’s
marketing efforts and the IMC program. Marketing-related measures include Nielsen and IRI
market share data which show how well Real California Cheese is doing in terms of sales and
market share. Advertising-related metrics include aided and unaided awareness of advertising for
8. In light of consumer trends (demographics, food trends, and media “consumption”), are there
other advertising or promotion opportunities that should be pursued by the California Cheese
industry?
This question encourages students to utilize their own creativity and apply their knowledge of
integrated marketing communication tools derived from the course material. Students can be
asked to suggest ways to extend the “Happy Cows” campaign in a different direction or even
suggest an entirely new campaign idea they feel might more effectively achieve the future growth