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Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, others acknowledge ‘wisdom’ of Steak-umm Twitter account | TribLIVE.com
Food & Drink

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, others acknowledge ‘wisdom’ of Steak-umm Twitter account

Frank Carnevale
Frank Carnevale
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Steak-umm.

Has Steak-umm become the voice of reason during the coronavirus pandemic?

The Twitter feed for the frozen steak company, based in Reading, Pa., is known for being funny and snarky but also authentic. It has caught the attention of government officials, business leaders and academics. Even The Washington Post dug into the account.

And the strategy has worked. The account boasts over 155,000 followers.

The account this week posted about media literacy in the internet age and avoiding “fear-based sensationalism or conspiracy theories.” The post got the backing of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, who retweeted it with the message: “Listen to the frozen beef sheet. It shares wisdom.” (Steak-umm retweeted Peduto, too.)

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman responded, “Feels very Beverly Hills Cop 2” to the post.

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Steak-umm account has continued to post about itself but also on topics such as analyzing data when trying to understand the outbreak, being a critical thinker and the general clumsiness of promoting a brand during a pandemic.

On Wednesday, Steak-umm tweeted about why many companies haven’t had a meaningful response to this crisis. It also mentioned that the company raised money for Feeding America, a hunger charity.

Earlier this month, the company’s “friendly reminder” that “anecdotes are not data” got some media attention.

Last year, the account posted an honest take about student-loan debt and isolation, which also garnered some media attention.

The Steak-umm account is managed by Allebach Communications, a marketing firm based in Souderton in Montgomery County, according to The Washington Post, which interviewed the people behind the account.

“The voice is based on a combination of brand features,” the feed’s main writer, Nathan Allebach, told The Post. “Like it being a family-owned frozen meat company built by the working class, then me trying to personify it based on those features, my own thoughts, and an adaptable human-esque style that feels like someone you know.”

Allebach said he keeps notepads of current and trending ideas he reads or sees online and tries to find a way to use those in the voice of the account.

“We want to be part of the conversation,” account director Jesse Bender told The Post.

Allebach also spoke with PRWeek about the approach the company has taken amid the pandemic crisis.

“You have to inject more personality or more humanization into how people are perceiving your total messaging,” Allebach said to the industry website. They also decided on talking directly about what is going on with the pandemic.

The account has resonated with people:

Even the Pennsylvania Treasury Department follows them.

Frank Carnevale is the TribLive multimedia editor. He started at the Trib in 2016 and has been part of several news organizations, including the Providence Journal and Orlando Sentinel. He can be reached at fcarnevale@triblive.com.

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