Butterball TurkeyTalk Helpline Goes Podcast

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, would-be dinner hosts can get advice on food preparation in a new way thanks to a new podcast version of Butterball’s 26-year-old TurkeyTalk Helpline.

Available at Butterball.com, iTunes and elsewhere, the podcasts consist of six episodes broadcast weekly which cover topics ranging from food preparation 101 to the most memorable TurkeyTalk phone calls the helpline has dealt with. The broadcasts will feature Mary Clingman, Butterball Turkey Talk-Line director and 20-year veteran, and Sherleen Clausen, Butterball Kitchens director.

By updating the means of sharing Turkey techniques, Butterball hopes to reach out to a younger generation of consumers, according to Toni Kackert, marketing manager for Butterball Turkey.

“The consumers that are actually podcasting are the ones that are either now, or will in the next few years, start cooking our turkeys. A lot of them are first time turkey preparers, so we wanted to help them and we thought podcasts would be the way,” says Kackert. “Maybe they don’t have time to call the TurkeyTalk line, but they can subscribe to the podcast and download it to their iPod and maybe look at it when they are in the store.”

Another part of Butterball’s Thanksgiving message consists of its recent contest for consumers to send in videos about how they look forward to seeing their families for Thanksgiving, or missing them if they are unable to join them. The “Shoot Your Own Commercial” contest generated seven winning entries from around the country, which are being broadcast on national television as well as published online at Butterball.com.

“The whole thing about Thanksgiving is bringing the family together, Butterball took that to heart and wanted to help families come together,” says Kackert. “We are looking to expand this next year. We’re talking about how can we make this bigger than what we’ve done this year. How can we bring more families together.”

Kackert also says that the most common turkey preparation question is always “how do I thaw my turkey?” which will the focus of two podcasts on Thursday November 16 and Wednesday November 22.

“The most important thing is we want consumers to know that preparing a turkey is easy. And we’re hoping that through the newer avenues we’re taking, we’ll be reaching newer consumers and getting that message out,” she says. “So hopefully the podcast will give them an alternative way to get our information.”