Country Harvest is asking people to think differently about the phrase “breadwinner,” as it builds a non-traditional marketing strategy.
The Weston-owned bread company recently commissioned a study that revealed 60% of Canadians associate “breadwinner” with masculinity. It’s aiming to change the perception with a series of podcasts, tackling the underlying expectation that women are nurturers and men bring in the household income.
The five “Meet the Breadwinners” podcast episodes, which are being hosted on iHeart Radio, focus on a first generation Canadian who supports her family as its sole provider; the country’s first female Afro-Canadian stunt coordinator; a stay-at-home dad; a male nurse; and a startup CEO and mom who returned to work six weeks after giving birth.
According to Sonia Bongiorno, senior manager, marketing brand build at Weston, the company recently re-positioned Country Harvest around its “Grabbing Life by the Grains” campaign that focused on go-getters and those with side hustles. Bongiorno says that the brand wanted to bring the “Grabbing Life by the Grains” concept to life, creating relevant content that connects emotionally with young professionals.
The five people chosen, Bongiorno says, are a diverse group of collaborators, and the breadwinner-themed podcasts are a way of celebrating everyone who contributes to a household, “regardless of whether it’s money, energy, time or love.” She says that the brand is looking at collaborations between breadwinners and influencers, but could not provide further details.
According to Bongiorno, the brand decided to host the series on iHeartRadio, as its core young professional consumer overlaps with iHeart’s demographics and because the brand has promotional partnerships with Shannon Ella, host of podcast Complete Country. Country Harvest is also a sponsor of podcast The Business of Life, which is co-hosted by singer-songwriter Jann Arden and Dragons’ Den star Arlene Dickinson and that focuses on entrepreneurship, being a mom and work-life balance. She says the show’s focus on overcoming challenges in the business world, also resonates with a growing consumer target of young consumers who are starting to build a family.
To promote the series, ads are running across IHeart’s network. It is also marketing the podcast across its owned channels (Country Harvest Instagram and FB pages) and it is also running third-party ads on Fashion, Toronto Life and DailyHive.
Union was the creative agency behind the podcast, supported by Mosaic.
