How Tillamook became a national brand—and why it just hired Leo Burnett

Tillamook County Creamery Association is a 114-year-old farmer-owned cooperative that over the past 10 years has grown from its roots in coastal Oregon into a national brand of cheese, ice cream and other premium dairy products. Speaking on this week’s edition of the Marketer’s Brief podcast, Tillamook VP of Marketing Kate Boltin discusses how the company is introducing itself to new consumers—and winning brand converts. She also elaborates on why Tillamook launched an agency review that this week culminated with the hire of Leo Burnett, which replaces 72andSunny. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, check us out on Spotify and hear us on Stitcher. This is our RSS feed. Tell a friend! The company's approach includes a heavy emphasis on influencers such as home cooks, chefs and lifestyle influencers, Boltin said. But with a limited budget versus competitors, Tillamook remains a challenger brand, and often must leave aside the “shiny things” in favor of marketing basics, like sampling programs, she added. Ad Age Breakout Brand Leaders New award honors the people behind emerging brands Enter here Tillamook recently connected with music influencers who contributed original songs about its cheeses, featuring them in a campaign urging consumers to “change your cheddar tune.” More recently, Tillamook set up shop in bagel stores in several cities including New York and Philadelphia, providing free cream cheese to entice trial. “We are a farmer-owned co-op. And with that comes responsibility to our farmers to make sure that every single farmer dollar we’re spending [is] responsible and creating return for them. And so we’ll never be able to spend at the levels of a Kraft or a Sargento, or some of our competitors out there,” Boltin said. “And so, we have to be incredibly smart and incredibly targeted with our approach. Sometimes marketing strategy is about saying ‘no’ to things moreso than it is saying ‘yes.’ And so we try really hard to kind of do the fundamentals to the best of our ability, and leave aside some of the shiny things.” Tillamook achieved B Corp certification in 2020, indicating it met high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. This can put cost pressures on the company but it sends a positive message to consumers, Boltin said. “We use it as a badge to signal to [consumers] that we’re committed to growing the right way.” Agency switch The brand undertook an agency review in January, having been with 72andSunny since 2014. “We have had just a wonderful relationship with our current agency partner,” Boltin said, referring to 72andSunny. “And I think just now that we’re heading into this next phase of growth for the company, we were just looking to make a change for that reason; trying to find a partner that’s going to help us grow into the future.” It announced Leo Burnett's hire this week (after this podcast was recorded). In a press release, Boltin stated: “It’s always a goal to work with agency partners that share the same values, make collaboration easy and work fun. Leo Burnett stood out for these very reasons. The clarity of their strategic thinking and creative approach showed us a powerful vision for the brand. We’re excited about this partnership and continuing to grow Tillamook’s presence from coast-to-coast.” New work from Leo Burnett is scheduled to launch in late 2023. Read more about Leo Burnett “Since first meeting the Tillamook team, we quickly learned that they are the type of partner that places high value on collaboration, integrity and kindness, which is reflected in every area of their business,” stated Britt Nolan, president and chief creative officer for Leo Burnett. “They have bold creative ambitions, awesome products, and they’re just really good people. We’re looking forward to going all-in.” Leo Burnett’s Tillamook win continues its recent momentum which has included being named creative agency of record for Dunkin’.

How Tillamook became a national brand—and why it just hired Leo Burnett

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