After the success of last year’s event, Maple Leaf Meats is back with the second annual recipe contest in the Atlantic provinces for its Big Stick Bologna brand.
The Big Stick Bologna Recipe Contest is being supported by a series of 60-second radio spots from Toronto-based Roche Macaulay & Partners Advertising.
Three of the spots, running until June 13, have fun with the fact that from June 15-17, Halifax will host the 21st G-7 Ecomonic Summit.
The conceit of the ads is that the representatives of the G-7 countries are in Halifax, not as part of the summit, but for the Big Stick Recipe Contest.
In the spots, an undercover reporter tries to find the bologna recipes of the various G-7 leaders.
Three more spots, running until June 17, focus on Chef Papparazzi, an Italian chef, who loves his Big Stick Bologna and believes he will win the contest.
Point-of-sale materials were also distributed to retailers.
Maple Leaf Meats is spending $80,000 for the whole campaign.
The recipe contest was created to recognize Big Stick Bologna’s 10th anniversary as well as bologna-lovers’ best recipes.
Paul Gittens, manager of marketing and new products development, says the contest only takes place in the Atlantic provinces because bologna is especially popular there.
‘Bologna is very much a staple meat product out there, and is used for many things, including lunch, dinner, and even breakfast,’ Gittens says. ‘It’s a very versatile product.’
The contest was so well-received by the retail trade and consumers that the contest has been ordained an annual event, and Maple Leap is hoping to expand it across the country.
Maple Leaf Meats is the market leader in the bologna category.
According to Nielsen Marketing Research, packaged sliced bologna sales reached $40.2 million in the past year. HL
