Got Milks?'s 'Milk: Beyond the Glass' Study Unearths Major Trends
The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB), creators of the GOT MILK? campaign, released the results of Wave XIII of the California Milk Usage Tracking Study. The longest standing research on total milk usage, the study tracks consumption across all times of day and a wide range of uses and audiences. Launched in late 1993, the Wave XIII data was collected during January and February 2001.
The study findings report that total awareness of "GOT MILK?" rose to an all-time high of 95 percent, reaching 96 percent among teens, 98 percent among 18-24 year-olds and Hispanics, and an astonishing 100 percent among moms.
Past 24-hour penetration and average ounces of milk consumed per day remained stable, while the frequency of milk usage rose from 3.9 to 4.3 times per day vs. Wave XII (January/February, 2000). Unlike nearly every other study, "Milk: Beyond The Glass" tracks all milk consumption (including with cereal), not just the white milk out of a glass.
"This study is not concerned with attitudes. Rather, it lays bare what people actually do with milk," says Jeff Manning, executive director of the CMPB. "For example, only 18 percent of all milk is consumed out of the glass without food."
According to the study, Hispanics' milk consumption rose strongly with frequency jumping from four to more than five times per day. The study shows that Hispanics consume more milk than the general population: nearly 20 ounces per day verses almost 18 ounces per day.
Two obstacles for milk marketers emerged from the research. Teen usage continues its long-term slide, with daily consumption dropping from nearly 25 ounces per day in 1993 to a low of 19 ounces per day in Wave XIII. Additionally, daily cereal usage continues to gradually slip, dropping from 78 percent of respondents in 1993 to 69 percent in Wave XIII.
According to Manning, "Advertising alone won't reverse the decline in teen milk consumption. We need new packaging, flavors and distribution points. We need to get into their faces."
A summary of the "Milk: Beyond The Glass" study is available to companies and organizations in the milk industry.
ABOUT GOT MILK?
The CMPB was established in early 1993 by California processors to help stem the decline in milk consumption and make milk more competitive against the broad array of beverage alternatives. The CMPB hired advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners in July 1993 and by October 1993, the GOT MILK? campaign launched. A Hispanic marketing campaign followed shortly. By 1995, GOT MILK? was running nationally by way of a licensing agreement with Dairy Management Inc. In 1998, MilkPEP, the group behind the Milk Mustache campaign, also began to license the GOT MILK? trademark. As a result, GOT MILK? is one of the most widely-recognized and deeply-beloved campaigns in advertising history.
The CMPB operates under the authority of the California Department of Food & Agriculture.