Vitalize Ambassadors’ Success Help Generate Interest from End-Users

The most exciting 10 days in rodeo happen each year in December. This year the National Final’s Rodeo (NFR) is December 2-11, back at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas. For 15 elite cowboys and cowgirls, this is their Superbowl – their opportunity to be named champion of their respective sports, and this year, Vitalize® is represented in four events by five of the top athletes in the business.

Ambassadors are a way to promote the products we sell, and the ambassador program is very predominant in the Vitalize line. Who doesn’t want their horse to have the same #goodgut feeling as top rodeo athletes like Emily Miller-Beisel or Haven Meged? We also have ambassadors who ride performance horses like Olympic medalists Laura Kraut and Ian Millar.

Regardless of the discipline, top equine athletes rely on Vitalize, and when the end-users discover that, it helps push them to want to use the products too.

In 2020, two Vitalize Ambassadors competed in the NFR, and BioZyme made sure to have a presences with its Vitalize and VitaFerm® lines. Barrell Racer Miller-Beisel rides with a Vitalize patch, and 2019 World Champion Tie-Down Roper Meged is patched with VitaFerm, as he feeds the mineral to his cattle on his Montana ranch.

Last year, Vitalize banner ads were on Cowboy Channel and RFD-TV websites, as well as a television commercial ran every other night of the performance, for a total of five nights.

Ten-second video pre-rolls ran on the Cowboy Channel app, and a feature article was also included with both Facebook and Instagram posts through the Cowboy Channel. Additionally, we ran carrousel ads with Team Roping Journal the week before the NFR and during the second full week.

“We saw unprecedented traffic to the Vitalize website with over 10,000 hits in that 10-day NFR span,” said Ashley Fitzsimmons, BioZyme Regional Marketing Coordinator. “We plan to do all of the same things, except run our television commercial all 10 nights this year, which should really push people to the website and the dealer locator. We have also been running a commercial all year for increased brand awareness.”

This year’s Vitalize Ambassadors that competed at the NFR include:

MARCOS COSTA – 2017 World Champion Tie-Down Roper from Brazil. This is his fourth NFR appearance, but his first since 2017. Costa is a huge fan of a variety of Vitalize products to keep his horses feeling their best.

“If you try the Vitalize® products you can’t go wrong. This is not something to give your horses just for peace of mind. Amaferm and these products make a real difference. After just 90 days I saw a dramatic difference in the performance of my horses and can say for sure I’ll be using these products until I retire (and beyond).”

HAVEN MEGED – 2019 World Champion Tie-Down Roper from Montana. This is his third consecutive NFR. Meged uses the Vitalize Alimend and Gel to make sure his horses are at the top of their game.

“I’m always making sure my horses stay healthy and on a good nutrition program from Vitalize®. I make sure everything is on top of their game, and they are getting the best supplements they can get. My horses look great.”

TREY YATES – Team Roper (Heeler) from Colorado. This is his second trip to the NFR. He won the average in 2018 at his first appearance. He relies on Hyaluronex® to keep his horse’s joints working their best.

“My horses really like Hyaluronex® Joint. They are doing awesome on it. It’s easy to feed; I just squirt it on their hay or cubes, and they eat it right up. They haven’t missed a beat and we’ve had an awesome summer. I’m so glad to be part of your team.”

TYLER PEARSON – 2017 World Champion Steer Wrestler from Oklahoma. This is Pearson’s fifth qualification to the Finals. He relies on a fast, smart horse to succeed in his sport.

“I can definitely tell a difference in how my horses feel since I started using the Hyaluronex® and Vitalize Equine Gel.”

EMILY MILLER-BEISEL – Barrel Racer from Oklahoma who will be competing at her third NFR. She relies on the Vitalize products to help keep her horses healthy and happy.

“A happy horse is a horse that’s going to perform and if they are not 100%, they can’t do their job. In a competition like professional barrel racing, you must have your horses at their best all the time. If you don’t have your horse at its best, somebody else does. Being reassured that my horses have that Vitalize® supplement and they are feeling good, is one less thing for me to worry about. If they aren’t feeling good, and time comes down to a one-hundredth of a second, everything counts. So, you have got to have them tip-top and ready to go.”

Everyone wants to be like a champion. Watching champions like these five compete during 10 nights of the NFR and seeing their featured commercial on the Cowboy Channel helps drive them to the Dealer Locator and will help drive them to you!

“We will be running our own social campaigns as well highlighting this ambassador team. Dealers are encouraged to share and promote the content being put out by Vitalize Equine and VitaFerm during this exciting time to take advantage of pull through marketing efforts,” Fitzsimmons said.

Using Ambassadors like these to promote our products are great ways to increase awareness. Be part of that growth!

Vitalize. For That Good Gut Feeling

By now you are probably aware of the variety of products that Vitalize® offers in the equine line for that good gut feeling. If not, we encourage you to review the November issue of VISION, visit the Product Center on the Online Dealer Center or go to www.vitalizeeq.com. Currently, eight great Vitalize and Hyaluronex® products available to you and your customers that can benefit the digestive and joint health of a horse.

Greatness doesn’t always happen inside the arena. Greatness happens in the horse, in the barn, on the long haul. Greatness happens where you make it happen, and that is why we have rounded up some folks to share their stories about the great things that Vitalize has done for them.

The Marketing Team utilizes 37 industry experts that use and promote the Vitalize to help position products through the Vitalize Ambassador program. People like to hear from their peers, and they develop a certain level of trust. According to one Nielsen report, a 92% level of trust exists among peers, much more than with any other group. Although it is generally fairly simple to get product testimonials, the equine industry is much more visible with the variety and number of competitions both in the English and Western disciplines. The ambassadors are not only passionate about the products, successful at what they do, but are respected within the industry and are usually active on at least one social media platform where they can share their thoughts and ideas with the masses.

Professionals like 10-time Olympic show jumper Ian Millar, his son Jonathan and his daughter, Amy, also an Olympic show jumper, use the products. So do two former World-champion tie-down ropers, Marcos Costa and Haven Meged. Laura Kraut, Olympic Gold Medalist, and Jenni McAlister, Three-Time FEI Show Jumping World Cup Qualifier, are two of the ladies who use Vitalize and travel the international circuit. In addition to two-time NFR qualifying barrel racer Emily Miller-Beisel, other barrel racers like Megan Lyerly and Bobbi Grann use the products. Shaun Strickland, the manager at Poison Spider Ranch uses it on his ranch horses and his champion cutting horses. Eventer and equine blogger Lauren Drew and Derek Braun, the Owner/Trainer at Split Rock Farm and President and Founder of the Split Rock Jumping Tour also use and promote Vitalize.

Why?

Because they believe in the products! They have had positive experiences, and they are willing to share to share their experiences with others. See what they say.

“The Vitalize® products allow my horses to better utilize their feed and reach their full ability. I like my horses’ hair coat and their consistent performance they are giving me. The Vitalize Recovery Gel is a must! It keeps my horses eating and drinking properly while on the road. They then perform to their full potential!” – MARCOS COSTA, World Champion Tie-down Roper

“In early 2019, my #1 competition horse Quantico was struggling to come back into competition shape and generally didn’t seem comfortable in work. My vets couldn’t find anything seemingly wrong, but I felt in my gut that he just wasn’t 100%. In the summer of ‘19 I put Quantico on Vitalize® Digest More® Plus and his comfort in work started to improve over the following weeks, the discomfort in his hindgut had been overlooked for months but was finally under control! Vitalize Digest More Plus helped Quantico go from a very light workout schedule to full fitness work and competing again over the first 6 months he was on it made a huge positive change in his work ethic under saddle and truly helped him get back to the competition ring! I will continue to feed the Vitalize supplements to all of my training and competition horses to keep them feeling good from the inside out! – COTI HAUSMAN, 2017 USEA American Eventing Championships Preliminary Rider Champion

“Vitalize® Alimend® is a vital part of our horses’ daily program. With the added stomach and gastric support, I have seen a complete transformation in the consistency of my horses’ overall health, happiness and performance while using Alimend.” – DEREK BRAUN, Owner/Trainer at Split Rock Farm and President and Founder of the Split Rock Jumping Tour

“The Vitalize® products are user-friendly, as there isn’t a lot of mixing, and my horses look great. All three of my horses look better. They are staying filled out, and they are staying chilled out, which is the Amaferm® working to make their gut feel better. I can tell when my mare’s stomach is bothering her, and she doesn’t want to perform, but I haven’t had those problems since I started her on Vitalize. I’ve had my horses on the Vitalize® High Performance pellet for almost 3 years now. It’s a necessity while I’m going up and down the road! It keeps my horses looking great and feeling even better. What I’m most excited about this year is the new Vitalize Alimend®! My good mare stresses and it really doesn’t take much for her to get ulcers. I can’t tell you the last time she’s had gut trouble since I started the Alimend! It’s definitely a must-have in your feed program.” – WHITNEY DESALVO, Three-time WPRA World Champion Heeler

DeSalvo is really good about sharing the Vitalize message with young roping students. She offers a couple roping clinics throughout the year and will typically give students swag bags that include Vitalize caps and/or products. Some of the ambassadors will do giveaways on their social media or partner with another company such as a horse photographer to offer a package. These are all creative ways to spread the Vitalize message among peers.

While these ambassadors are always on the go, we like to see what your customers are doing too! Do you have loyal customers that you could deem as your local ambassadors? Do you have someone that shares the Vitalize message (or any brand message) on social media? Be sure to share that on your social media and tag us in it or share it to the Dealer Facebook page. Some of the best ideas and marketing messages come from our peers.

Using ambassadors, testimonials and word of mouth is a great way to position a product. Ask one of your loyal customers for a testimonial. Chances are, he or she will be glad to talk about the benefits of the product and if the neighbors know that person has success with it, that success will help you gain some other customers as well.

Get That Good Gut Feeling With Vitalize

Did you know that 67% of U.S. households have at least one dog? That’s a whopping 85 million households with dogs, and surely some of those are your existing customers. As “man’s best friend” dog owners want what is best for their four-legged friends and will oftentimes spend any amount of money on food, vet costs, toys and supplies to make sure their fur babies are happy and healthy.

That’s why BioZyme® has created a canine line of Vitalize® products, specifically formulated with the Amaferm® advantage to maintain that “good gut feeling.” Just like the equine Vitalize, this line of supplements is designed to improve digestive health and gut integrity, keeping your customer’s animal healthy and performing.

Regardless if their canine companion is a working cow dog, show dog, hunting dog, guard dog or a sit on your lap and look cute dog, your customers want what is best for it. Vitalize offers three forms of supplements for dogs:

  • Vitalize® Dog – available in 1 lb. or 40 lb. bucket – a top dress vitamin and mineral supplement for dogs in all stages of life that need or deserve extra fortification and improved digestive health.
  • Vitalize® Dog Recovery Gel – 15 mL tube – a 3-in-1 gel that provides faster recovery during stressful times such as high performance, antibiotic therapy, worming, surgery recovery, sickness or digestive upset such as diarrhea or vomiting.
  • Vitalize® Alimend® K9 – 6 oz. bottle – unique blend of: MHB3® Hyaluronan, H. erinaceous (Lion’s mane) extract, and AO-Biotics® that supports gastric health and GI tissue in dogs.

Horses can face numerous health challenges, including colic, ulcers, dysbiosis, weight management problems, going off-feed, and diarrhea. The equine line of Vitalize products offers research-proven solutions to help combat these problems. These supplements contain precision prebiotics to improve digestive health and gut integrity, keeping your customer’s horse healthy and performing. If they are good enough for some of the world’s best show jumpers and rodeo athletes, aren’t they good enough for your customers? To help your customer decide which Vitalize supplement is right for his or her horse, visit the Simplified Product Guide.

Check out what some of our customers had to say!

4 Times to Use Vitalize Equine Recovery Gel

Vitalize® Equine Recovery Gel with the Amaferm® advantage contains the ideal balance of vitamins, organic trace minerals, amino acids, anti-oxidants, Omega 6 and Omega 3, MOS and Amaferm for maximum support of immune function and stress recovery. Though the times to feed it are limitless, here are four times we recommend it most.

At the first sign of digestive upset

Digestive upset or colic can happen for no apparent reason. If your horse is displaying signs of abdominal pain, diarrhea or general discomfort, administer Recovery Gel immediately.

Hauling

Hauling a horse can be a very stressful experience. In fact, on average a horse loses 6 to 8 pounds per hour of travel. To lessen the negative impact, administer Recovery Gel every four to six hours while hauling.

With antibiotics

By nature, antibiotics deplete both the good and bad microbes in the gut making probiotics an impractical option. Amaferm is a prebiotic and is research-proven to stimulate beneficial gut microbes, even in the presence of antibiotics, aiding in a speedy recovery. Administer Recovery Gel daily while feeding antibiotics and in the days following antibiotic treatment.

Showing

If you’ve ever had butterflies in your stomach, you may know firsthand the way your horse is feeling while walking up to the show ring. The stress of showing can have profound, negative impacts on the gut. To improve your horse’s performance and maintain a good gut feeling, administer Recovery Gel two to four hours before showing. For an especially nervous or anxious horse you can also give gel the night before and after showing.

Volatile Fatty Acids for Horses

Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are a group of fatty acids produced by the cellulose digesting microbes in a horse’s hind gut. Interestingly, the microbes that produce VFAs cannot use them; they are simply a by-product of the fermentation process employed by the microbes to degrade cellulose found in forages. Instead, the horse absorbs them through the cecal and colonic epithelium, and they are distributed throughout the body as energy for a wide array of biological processes.

The most common VFAs are acetate, propionate and butyrate. Collectively, these account for the majority (approximately 70 percent) of the horse’s energy supply. At a basic level, this allows the horse to survive as an herbivore and contributes energy to the general maintenance of the horse including body condition, hair coat, hoof health and the immune system. Additional burdens, such as competition, stress, and lactation, require additional energy supply and, therefore, additional VFA production and absorption.

Acetate is arguably the most important VFA as it is the only one that can be directly absorbed in the bloodstream and used directly as energy. Propionate and butyrate can also be used as energy, but must first be converted into other compounds. Acetate also has significance for broodmares because it is an important source of fat in a lactating mare’s milk. As such, studies have shown that mares on a high forage diet have more milk fat than mares on a high concentrate diet.

Several components of concentrates are also broken down by microbes in the hind gut. However, the type of microbes responsible for concentrate degradation produce a different ratio of VFAs than the cellulose digesting microbes. This ratio, which contains more propionate and less acetate, is less desirable for the horse since acetate is the most accessible energy source. Although concentrate supplementation is necessary in many situations, a diet high in forage content is necessary for the horse to adequately produce enough VFAs to meet its energy requirements.

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Because Amaferm® increases the efficiency at which the cellulose digesting microbes in the hind gut operate, horses supplemented with Amaferm have significantly higher VFA production from forages. This means the horse is absorbing considerably more energy (and nutrients) from the same amount of forage as a horse not receiving Amaferm.

Fortunately, there are several different ways that horses can receive the Amaferm advantage. This chart will help you pick the ideal BioZyme product for your customer.