The brand strategy is simply ‘100% Real’, based on the fact that there’s only one ingredient in Steak-umm: beef. The strategy is to bridge the social voice (and real human insights) over to a much larger national audience—accessing the honesty and transparency people love from Twitter—by utilising a brand mascot that will reach wholly new audiences. The work takes one of the most ubiquitous utterances in the English language (and half of the brand name) — Ummmmm — and turns it into a cry for 100% real beef Steak-umm. 

The Steaksperson is somewhat new, having been used as a visual in social meme content but not much else. In bringing the mascot to life, Tombras is setting a path the brand can follow and creating a runway to do far more with it. 

For this first step, Tombras’ remit is to increase awareness and drive trial, translating the Twitter success the brand has seen in recent years to increased sales. With a core audience of 25-45 aged males, and national distribution, the agency also developed an integrated media plan running on OTT, programmatic, paid social, and YouTube.

Max Scannapieco, VP of sales and marketing at Quaker Maid Meats: “The direction Tombras is taking the Steak-umm brand is just what we’d hoped for when choosing to partner with them. This campaign effortlessly translates the success we have seen on social media to reach new audiences, and we are excited to create more Steak-umm fans across the country.” 

Dooley Tombras, president at Tombras: “This is an important transitional moment for Steak-umm, because for the first time we’re exploring what the brand’s voice sounds and looks like outside the feed. The tension and irony of a frozen beef brand getting real with people about real topics has Seinfeldian potential. You really only get one chance to do that, and when it works we’ll have that much more room to evolve and grow.”