Steak-umm Splits With Agency That Made It a Twitter Star

People don’t expect a lot from frozen meat. It’s convenient and reliable—what else is there to say? But under the social media management of food-focused agency Allebach Communications, Steak-umm became the socially conscious and life-affirming heart of brand Twitter. However, Nathan Allebach, the longtime social voice of the brand and the agency's creative director, revealed today that after six years, the agency is no longer working with Steak-umm. “Like they say, ‘Time flies when you’re shilling beef!’” he wrote on (where else?) Twitter, along with a retrospective of the agency’s best work for the brand. “We’re grateful for the valued partnership we had and all the friends we made along the way.” https://twitter.com/nathanallebach/status/1489253488815063044 "After six years of strong and productive partnership, the teams are respectfully parting ways," according to a statement from Allebach Communications. In comments to Adweek, Nathan Allebach added: “Steak-umm grew to iconic heights that none of us could've imagined. The work speaks for itself. We’re thankful for the close client relationship that allowed it to happen.” On its own website, Steak-umm tips its hat to the "viral" Twitter presence created by Allebach, describing the voice as seeking to "embody Steak-umm’s company values as a legacy brand in a strange new world." Adweek has reached out to Steak-umm for comment. More than meat Steak-umm and Allebach Communications' relationship began in late 2015 when parent company Quaker Maid Meats signed Allebach as its agency of record. In rebranding Steak-umm Meats, Allebach definitely reached beyond the frozen meat brief to create a Twitter presence that has been a source of real information, comfort and truth in our turbulent world, largely beginning with this now-iconic thread about millennial angst in 2018: https://twitter.com/steak_umm/status/1045038141978169344 According to the agency, it was the first time a brand went viral for a long-form Twitter thread. The Twitter account, known for its sign-off "Steak-umm bless," has covered topics ranging from misinformation and mental health to debunking "fake news" and student loan debt. In the darkest days of April 2020, when the reality of the pandemic was just settling in for the world, Steak-umm was a beacon for rational discussion and community aid. Walking a delicate balance of empathy and truth-telling, Nathan Allebach managed to avoid the all-too-common brand cringe trap where social media managers go for the easy punchline or try to capitalize on cultural moments in a way that rings false for the brand. Allebach's wise yet humorous voice somehow came to suit the family-owned brand founded in 1960, like if your grandfather had stayed informed and got wiser instead of angrier. In 2020, Nathan Allebach was named to Adweek's Creative 100 and honored as one of the marketing world's top branded-content innovators. In his own statement on the agency-brand separation, CEO Jamie Allebach said: “The most foundational piece to building brands is building trust with the people behind them. Without that, our work with Steak-umm never would’ve taken off. Our partnership the past six years has been invaluable and brought out some of our finest work from over the past 30 years in business.” Social Confidential: How Steak-umm Blesses Twitter With Wisdom and Humor

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Steak-umm Splits With Agency That Made It a Twitter Star

The frozen meat company is no longer working with Allebach Communications

Eva Kis

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Eva Kis