Dairy Farmers of Canada and W Network's cheesy campaign

Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is bringing a whole new meaning to the idea of cheesy holiday movies. The organization has partnered with Corus Entertainment’s W Network to sponsor the specialty channel’s annual slate of holiday movies, airing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings throughout December. The initiative is comprised of a series of 90-second interstitials featuring W Network personality Josie Dye, and is intended to drive awareness for the DFC’s “All you need is cheese” campaign and its associated AllYouNeedIsCheese.ca website. The sponsorship kicks off on Dec. 4 with the airing of Surviving Christmas. Subsequent titles includeLast Holiday, The Holiday, Holiday Baggage, The Family Man and Four Christmases. The campaign, which also includes on-air billboards and closed captioning sponsorship, was developed by DFC’s media agency, m2. It is aimed at women 25-54 who are “zestfuls” – women who love to cook and entertain, particularly around the holidays. “Our challenge was to break through in a season where are inundated with recipes, and introduce her to new varieties of Canadian cheeses and recipes for the holidays,” said DFC’s marketing director, Caroline Khoury. “Understanding W’s strength in reaching and inspiring ‘zestfuls,’ we are tapping into their holiday spirit in her downtime when she is most receptive.” During the segments, Dye will discuss the films, provide holiday tips and test recipes using Canadian cheese, such as parmesan and caramel popcorn. A weekly recipe will be featured on WNetwork.com’s food section and its weekly “Dinner and a movie” e-newsletter. This article first appeared in Marketing Magazine.