Unilever takes playful approach to summer campaign

Unilever is out to show Quebec families just how easy summer cooking can be.

The company has, for the fifth year, teamed up with BOB agency to create a summer-themed multi-brand marketing program at IGA. “Un été pas compliqué” (an uncomplicated summer) focuses on highlighting Unilever’s main food brands – Hellmann’s and Becel, to name a few – in the Quebec market.

“The goal is to help Quebec families eat more at home,” explained Dominic Prigent, director of shopper marketing at BOB agency. “ can help liberate moms from unrealistic dinner expectations and show her there’s no need to sweat it. It’s time to have fun in the kitchen again."

The program kicked off last week with an insert in Quebec-based 7 jours magazine and IGA’s flyer. It includes in-store product displays as well as coupons and recipe booklets. The program is supported by spokesperson Mélanie Marchand, a well-known culinary artist in Quebec.

“Her accessible culinary creativity offers Quebec consumers diversified use of Unilever food and ice cream brands,” says Caroline Forcier, shopper marketing manager for Unilever, adding she’s helped make Unilever brands accessible to Quebec consumers through an easy-to-read photo-novel – also known as a photo-roman

The photo-roman is a particularly unique aspect of the campaign. Novels where illustrations are replaced by real people’s photos used to be quite popular in Quebec, Caroline explains, and Unilever has brought back the format.

In this case, a story is told through Marchand’s use of recipes in her own personal life.

“The dynamism and authenticity of Marchand allowed for expressive, yet relevant pictures of herself to story telling,” Forcier explains.

Bright and quirky, the photo novel is a depiction of how fun – and sometimes funny – cooking can be. As Prigent says, it represents a joie de vivre Quebecers enjoy.

Through its five years, BOB and Unilever have worked together to strategize creative campaigns, but the marketing program is always focused on offering meal inspiration recipes and coupons to help shoppers use the Knorr, Hellmann’s, Becel and Breyer’s brands in the meals.

This year’s campaign will be executed in two waves, with the current one capitalizing on summer BBQ season, and a second one in November for the holidays.