Oberto today is launching its America's PROtein campaign featuring U.S. Olympic snowboarder Louie Vito, centered on the company's Facebook page. Vito as the campaign's "stokesperson" will appear in videos emphasizing the nutritional benefits of Oberto's all-natural beef jerky. Oberto Marketing Dir Mike Ginal, noting that consumers are increasingly looking for natural products, said, "Not many brands in the category are really focusing on that. We want to be the brand that focuses on helping people to live a healthy and active lifestyle." Ginal added that Vito will be appearing in online and in-person fan engagement events as the Sochi Games approach, and the campaign will involve other athletes in more mainstream sports in '14. Ginal said that Facebook made a natural core for the campaign given Vito's active presence there. Vito has 56,920 likes on Facebook and 63,164 Twitter followers as of presstime. Ginal said of social media marketing, "The size of your Twitter and Facebook following is important, but also how active and engaged the athlete is with fans. Louie in particular really has deep and strong engagement with his fans." Vito, who is represented by Todd Hahn of Prime Athletes, also has sponsorships with Nike, Red Bull, Smucker's, Sprint and Toyota, among others.
