Black Diamond intercepts parents resuming back-to-school routines

Black Diamond is deploying shopper tactics as part of a broader campaign for its kid-friendly Cheestrings.

The Lactalis-owned convenience dairy brand is looking to connect with consumers, primarily young families, as they return to their routines in the new year including going back to school after the holiday break, says Enrique Larez, Black Diamond and tablespreads marketing director.

As Larez explains, shopper assets with “keep it cheesy” messaging are the tactical portion of its master brand campaign, which included TV and OLV advertising with the same message. These assets went on air early in the new year to be top of mind with our consumers as they returned to their routines, Larez says.

The point-of-sale materials, which include a $1.00 off tearaway coupon for 12-, 16- or 28-pack formats of Black Diamond Cheestrings, and with prominent “made with 100% Canadian milk” messaging, are distributed nationally and will be in field until the end of January.

The shopper program includes an e-comm component too as visitors to Walmart’s website will see Cheestrings ads curated to work with the assortment its customers carry. There is also YouTube-sponsored content directing visitors to Walmart’s site.

As part of its longstanding, “keep it cheesy” brand positioning, Black Diamond has been playing with the idea of kid lunch trades, but having adults do them instead. For example, in creative launched last year, an office worker offers up a bagel in exchange for a Cheestring with the propositions becoming increasingly ridiculous: a green orb, a cloning machine and lastly, Cthulhu, the cosmic creature hatched from the mind of sci-fi horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft.

With agency partners Broken Heart Love Affair, Zenith and Epitaph, Black Diamond also did a Craigslist/eBay/Facebook Marketplace-styled OOH activation spoof at Toronto’s Yonge/Dundas square. It read “Accepting trades for one Cheestring. Marble flavour. Still in original packaging.”

According to the latest Ipsos insights, cheese consumptions remains wildly popular in Canada, with comfort eating spikes happening during the COVID-19 pandemic, gradually returning to 2019 levels but still enjoyed to the tune of hundreds of times per year for the average consumer.

Last fall, Lactalis Canada entered into a long-term lease for a new Oshawa distribution centre to handle its cheese and tablespreads supply chain network.