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Red Tractor to run national advertising campaign

29th Mar 2018 / By Alistair Driver

The Red Tractor logo will be promoted in a national television advertising campaign later this year for the first time in the scheme's history. 

RT porkAcknowledging that this will bring with it additonal scrutiny, Red Tractor Assurance has urged farmers to be wary of potential 'exposes’ by aninmal welfare campaigners.

The decision follows a comprehensive market research exercise looking at what primary shoppers know about the on-pack logo, which highlighted that shoppers were twice as likely to purchase a Red Tractor product if they understood more about the standards behind it.

Spearheaded by the television advert, the campaign will be synchronised and reinforced across magazines, on-demand video, websites and social media channels.

Chief executive Jim Moseley said: “The new campaign will focus on the reassurance that Red Tractor brings to consumers through its rigorous checks against the high standards of British agriculture.”

Brexit has brought the future of UK food and farming into sharp focus, he said. With the outcome of trade deals and tariffs yet to be decided, it is possible that domestic farm-assured produce could come under even more pressure from imported food on the supermarket shelves.

Differentiating a UK product from an import in terms of its production standards, origin, traceability and safety have never been more important, Mr Moseley said.

“Red Tractor has a very broad consumer following, from busy parents to time-rich foodies, so our campaign will launch with national TV to achieve the greatest reach and awareness with our consumers.

"We need more shoppers to know more about the food they are buying to increase active sourcing of assured food."

Public profile 

Red Tractor has never had its own TV campaign before, and it is aware that publicly raising the profile of it will spark even closer scrutiny of the scheme. He warned scheme members to be wary of so-called ‘exposes’, which, all too familiar to the pig sector, paint a negative picture of assured food production and are becoming more common. 

“The positive reputation of British farming is well deserved, built on decades of public trust," Mr Moseley.

“However, one negative story about a farm that is not complying to assurance standards 365 days a year can quickly spread to millions of consumers and undermine that trust.

“Now is the time for every member to do their bit and protect the integrity of the logo.”

The consumer research found that: 

  • 80% of primary UK shoppers want to support British farmers
  • 69% are aware of the Red Tractor on-pack logo
  • 58% say they are positiviely influenced by the logo
  • 30% would trade up to a Red Tractor product if they saw the logo