In case you missed it, Progressive partnered with Whole Foods to offer turkey insurance for Thanksgiving. It was probably a great idea given how many first timers were cooking this year. Anyone who bought their turkey at Whole Foods by November 22 was eligible to participate. And the first 1000 turkey fails received a $35 gift card. Very cute. And all the major news outlets covered the story. (Tyko, 2020)
It appears that many novice cooks also turned to the Internet for advice. Allrecipes.com had its largest number of site visits ever on both Thanksgiving Eve (12.8 million, up 14.9% vs. year ago) and Thanksgiving Day (14.3 million, up 26.7% vs. year ago).
The statistics from the site also showed that gatherings were smaller, with recipes for turkey breast up 96% versus year ago and whole chicken recipes up 150% versus year ago.
And, if you were looking for proof that these were new cooks, note that recipes that included the word "basic" were up 27% and those with "beginner" in their titles were up 83%. (Guaglione, 2020)
Did you hear about the Progressive/Whole Foods turkey insurance? Do you think the campaign was successful? Did you participate?
What about looking online for cooking advice and ideas? Did you visit Allrecipes.com? A different cooking site? Or maybe you watched Binging with Babish on YouTube?
What do you think about "beginner" vs. "basic?" Did you look for either term in your searches? Why do you think views were up more for "beginner" than "basic?"
Tyko, K. (2020, November 10) Insure your turkey for holiday fails? Whole Foods and Progressive offering 'Thanksgiving Turkey Protection Plan' usatoday.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2020/11/10/thanksgiving-turkey-whole-foods-progressive-insurance-protection-plan/6239911002/
Guaglione, S. (2020, November 30) Allrecipes.com Hits Nearly 60M Visits During Thanksgiving Week. mediapost.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020, from
