Brand the barn
CAB Seeks paint worthy nominees for 40th anniversary
by Nicole Lane Erceg
Enthusiastic ranchers have long sought permission to use the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand logo. For a company that owns only a brand — no cattle, no product — that registered trademark is a pretty important asset. Its use is restricted to licensed partners that sell the beef product.
Since 1978, ranchers have focused their high-quality Angus genetics to supply the CAB brand with greater and greater success. Over those decades, the logo, product and breed have been making a mark on the beef industry. A big mark.
To celebrate, CAB is doing something big.
As big as a barn, in fact.
To commemorate 40 years, the world’s largest and most successful brand of beef will paint that logo, the most valuable thing it owns, on 40 barns across the United States.
Yours could be one of them.
The brand is accepting nominations for barns that will be painted by Ohio artist Scott Hagan. Known as the “Barn Artist,” Hagan specializes in creating larger-than-life designs on barns across the country. He creates each of his murals by hand and has worked on more than 400 barns in his 20 years of painting.
“For the 40th Anniversary, we wanted to do something that reflects our history as well as the legacy of quality,” says Tracey Erickson, vice president of marketing for CAB. “Without our ranching heritage, the Certified Angus Beef brand wouldn’t exist, so what better way to promote it than to pay homage to them in our celebrations? That’s how the idea for painting these barns was born.”
Go online to nominate a barn for the 40th anniversary painting campaign. The simple application requires a minimum of three photos of the structure and surrounding area. Preference will be given to wood-sided barns, and they will be selected based on location, scenic beauty and high-traffic areas.
“It’s exciting to embrace a form of marketing that’s all but disappeared over the years, yet one that’s still very appropriate today for our mission to support Angus producers,” says Erickson. “Use of our logo is typically limited to our product, but for this campaign, we are proud to be able to display a brand created by Angus producers on their farms across the country.”
The first barn painting is set to begin in early 2018 with a sequence of paintings throughout the year. Hagan will wrap up his final logo mural in Ohio, home state for the brand.
“We’re looking forward to honoring farmers and ranchers across the nation while engaging their local communities along the way,” Erickson says. “We are honored and humbled to celebrate this anniversary with them.”
To submit an application for your barn or to nominate a barn in your area, visit www.certifiedangusbeef.com/brandthebarn.
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