Turkey Farmers of Canada is playing up the variety of meals that can be cooked with the bird through song.

The organization’s TV-led “Turkey Makes the Grill Sing” campaign features, for example, a country and western tune linked to smoking the whole bird (a version of which is running in Quebec), a reggae-like tune based on a jerk recipe and a bouzouki jingle based around a Greek-style kebob.

Each video features the lyrics along with a bouncing drumstick, encouraging viewer participation. Think Turkey is a five-year marketing campaign by Turkey Farmers of Canada aimed at raising awareness of turkey as a delicious and lean everyday protein option.

The campaign, created by longstanding creative partner Zeno, is a part of Think Turkey’s “Griller’s Bird” campaign, an annual summer-long program to inspire more Canadians to try turkey on the grill during the summer months, breaking notions that it is only something to be enjoyed during fall and winter holidays.

“We are trying to sustain market share and market place against chicken and beef,” says Darren Ference, chair of Turkey Farmers of Canada, who tells strategy the timing is coinciding with new BBQ products coming to market.

Along with these new spots, the organization – which represents about 500 producers nationally – also launched an interactive website featuring turkey grilling tips, recipe inspiration and a curated summer grilling playlist.

“Turkey’s been a year-round product, and we are trying to bring that to life,” Ference says, adding that the organization’s challenge continues to be educating consumers of all stripes about all the different kinds of ways turkey can be cooked. “We’re hitting the versatility of the product with barbecuing and skewering to target new Canadians who may may not know about the meat. We are doing a bit of everything to touch all our bases.”

In 2019, Turkey Farmers of Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council’s Turkey Primary Processing Sector Members launched Think Turkey / Pensez Dindon, a national, bilingual campaign aimed to boost turkey consumption and continues to remind Canadian consumers that no other bird will do.

Zeno Group has been the creative AOR for about five years, and handled the media buy for the latest campaign too.

“Our marketing budget hasn’t changed, it’s just a shift in what’s working from past years and where we are getting most bang for our buck,” Ference says.