Loblaw unites food lovers in new ad campaign
Just before Easter, Loblaw Companies Limited unveiled an advertising campaign that marked a first for the country’s biggest grocery retailer.
Called “Food Lovers Unite” the goal of the campaign is to tap into the many different and often divergent passions of food lovers.
Tastes may very, but most people who love food, want quality food. Loblaw wants to be the grocery store that understands and appreciates those different tastes and to be the destination to serve those tastes with high quality.
What makes the campaign unique is that for the first time, Loblaw is using “masterbrand” advertising with common messaging across all of its non-discount “Market” brands such as Loblaws, Zehrs, Independent, Provigo etc., said Wes Brown, vice-president of brand marketing at Loblaw.
Where discount is about price, and Shoppers Drug Mart is about convenience, the Market brands are focused on quality food and a quality shopping experience.
Loblaw’s iconic big orange and red "L" will be used more across the Market division's retail banners as a symbol for high quality food and shopping experience. “When you see that symbol, no matter what, that is the place with the food love as it were,” said Brown.
The campaign is about celebrating people's passion for food, about telling some of the stories about food love and embracing the debates that food lovers have: like is it okay to put ketchup on steak.
Before now, most of the marketing for those banners was done at a local level, with a lot of retail advertising on radio and in flyers, for example. Now the larger, more purposeful food love brand messaging will be delivered through mass reach channels such as TV, while local communications will happen at the store level.
“You are going to see conversations happening in and around your store as a food hub,” said Brown. “So the food debate and conversation in St. John’s is much different than Victoria.”
The advertising campaign is ongoing, though activity will spike ahead of food-focused holidays.