Empire’s “Feed the Dream” campaign supports Team Canada’s Olympic hopefuls, but it’s also about tapping into the grocer’s ethos of being all about food, family and sport.
Empire, the official grocer of Team Canada, has unveiled a hero spot with a dad writing a message of inspiration in his daughter’s lunchbox, intercut with some of Canada’s most prominent athletes and para athletes.
Erika DeHaas, VP of marketing at Empire/Sobeys, says that, as an organization that’s about nurturing families, the campaign is rooted in creating a connection via the heartwarming words and affirming actions of friends and family, as well as the network of people who help athletes succeed at the highest level.
“It does a beautiful job making that connection,” DeHaas says, telling strategy the hero spot shows the ups and downs of training and showcases athlete perseverance, all set to a cover of Aerosmith ear worm, Dream On.
The integrated approach includes a media partnership with CBC, as well as special dedicated content with athletes and their families from Team Canada’s Summer Games home in Paris, as well as its Sobeys Family & Friends Lounge.
The in-store, venue and creative thematic through-line, DeHaas says, is lunchbox notes of encouragement.
The campaign is put into action through an emotive campaign, inspired by the childhood nostalgia of loving notes left in a child’s lunchbox, and there are opportunities for Canadians to win their own “Feed the Dream” lunchboxes by leaving a message of support on FeedtheDream.ca.
Media properties, whether content created for Meta or TikTok, drive traffic to the microsite as well.
In-store and digital promotions feature a shopper contest, with Team Canada CPG partners offering a chance to win an array of “Feed the Dream” prizes like free lunches for a year.
On the XM side, Empire is supporting efforts with a “Hometown Tour” engaging families in local communities across Canada with the “Feed the Dream” mobile food trailer, a 56-foot conveyance that converts into a fully operating food kitchen, complete with giant screens.
The trailer will be in Vancouver, Calgary, London, Toronto and Halifax (across Sobeys/Safeway athlete hometowns) to drive engagement and encourage locals to support Team Canada.
The campaign also includes TV, OLV, OOH and social. XMC is supporting experiential and athlete management, BBDO handled the creative, UM Canada the media buy, North Strategic on PR and influence, and Tru Agency developed the microsite.
