This story appears in the February/March 2016 issue of strategy.
Bronze: Off to a Good Start
Situation Analysis:
Since 1957, McCain has dominated the frozen French Fries category and become one of the country’s most trusted brands. But Canadians are now consciously limiting their frozen food consumption in favour of more fresh foods, leading to overall frozen category declines and increasingly negative perceptions of frozen foods. McCain looked to extend usage of Superfries into more varied eating occasions, particularly adult, using digital and social channels.
Insight & Strategy:
While the likes of bacon, cupcakes and burgers have benefited from culinary reinvention, fries were primarily enjoyed the same old way for the same old occasions, missing out on today’s creative food culture. Looking at such reinventions, there was a clear “recipe” for success: chef endorsements, key influencer partnerships, user-generated content, scaleable content, multi-platform presence, paid media support and simple, foodie-inspired recipe content that appealed to the target’s senses and sensibilities.
Execution:
#Modifry launched nationally in October 2014, primarily in social and digital media with TV support added in March 2015, leveraging three different creative elements: recipes, partnership content, and user-generated content. Each of the “bake, toss and serve” recipes featured three to five fresh ingredients to toss with McCain Superfries, demonstrating how easy it was to change your fries.
Results:
The #Modifry campaign drove 7% sales growth versus a year ago, double the target. There was also a 26% lift in brand association amongst the new, broader target. The campaign drove over 500,000 social engagements on Facebook and Twitter. Nearly 90 million impressions were delivered against #Modifry content.
Cause & Effect:
Product distribution was slightly lower than the previous year for the first month of the campaign window and pricing strategies remained consistent at levels below those of the competition.
Credits:
Client: McCain Foods Canada
Agency: Grip Limited
