LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Kentucky Corn Growers Association recently has been investing checkoff dollars to strategically promote ethanol as a sustainable fuel source, and to educate consumers about the benefits of their fuel choices, according to officials.

Through innovative media campaigns, the organization has successfully reached a wide audience, including those who may not typically consider the origins of their fuel.

One such campaign, featuring Unleaded88 billboards along eastern Kentucky State Park highways and in Louisville, reached an estimated 3.75 million people, officials said.

“We utilized a media asset that was developed by another state corn association to educate drivers on Unleaded88 in the Louisville, Ky., area,” Adam Andrews, the association’s program director, told Farm World.

“We love to collaborate on projects like this because it allows us to maximize the investment benefit of farmer checkoff funding in an efficient manner,” he added. “The ad features a Thorntons convenience store, which is a company headquartered in Louisville, and who has heavily invested in Unleaded88 and E-85 infrastructure for over a decade.”

He said, “The main objective of any corn checkoff investment is to increase farmer profitability. This specific project focused on market development; our farmer leaders chose a marketing strategy to increase corn grind through ethanol by raising consumer awareness and education.

“This campaign offered a second benefit at the retailer level since it was a unique way to say thank you to a company who was an early adopter of our products,” he added. “We feel it is very important to prove to Thorntons, and other industry stakeholders, that we are a good partner.”

He said, “We saw evidence that this campaign accelerated their adoption and promotion of the Unleaded88 even more, and we know it showed other retailers that we will invest to promote our product on behalf of the retailers who invest to offer mid-level ethanol blends. Retailer adoption of Unleaded88, especially when done within the branding guidelines, is a proven strategy to maximize corn grind through ethanol.”

He said the Kentucky Corn Promotion Council – a board of seven farmers from across the state – executed two iterations (repetition of a process) of this campaign in Louisville, an area that can already market E-15 year-round.

Another recent media campaign is the “Dad-Approved” commercials, which showcased the affordability, performance, and environmental benefits of ethanol-blended fuels.

“We chose very high-visibility broadcast television advertising during key events that have a track record of captivating Louisvillian television viewers: the Kentucky Derby on NBC, and a PGA Championship hosted at Valhalla Golf Club on CBS,” Andrews said.

When asked how these kinds of media campaigns are mainly funded, and how they specifically benefit Kentucky farmers, as well as consumers, he said, “Most of the funding for these investments came from the Kentucky Corn Promotion Council, but we did utilize some grant funds from the National Corn Growers Association.

“Also notable is that our asset creation budget was essentially zero since we utilized an ad that was already created for a separate campaign in another state,” he added. “Since nearly a third of our nation’s corn demand comes from ethanol, the benefit to corn farmers is clear. We also know mid-level blends of ethanol offer high potential for increased corn grind, if we can boost consumer awareness and retailer adoption.”