Armstrong Cheese wants to make its sliced cheese a must-have for Canadians this summer.

The Saputo brand is rolling out a new campaign, “Bring Your Own Armstrong,” to encourage people to choose its cheese for summer outings. The idea behind the campaign is that, like a favourite hot sauce, you bring Armstrong cheese with you to every engagement to ensure you’ll have it on hand.

“Our key message is that Armstrong cheese slices are the tastiest topping for your burgers and sandwiches this summer, so it’s ok to bring your own to barbecues and picnics,” the brand’s senior marketing manager Tina Galluccio tells strategy.

The campaign’s target audience is women above 35 years old with children at home, and men and women aged 25 to 35, a demographic the brand has previously pursued, Galluccio says. “We are targeting this audience because they over-index on cheese consumption and show a tendency to pay more for value-add formats.”

As part of the campaign, Armstrong is running the “Bring the Flavour” contest until September 8, wherein participants may win one of three Armstrong Coolers packed with cheese. In-store displays will encourage customers to participate in the contest.

The media plan also includes social media posts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, as well as influencer content. Additionally, the brand plans to set up a food truck at various summer events in Ontario with cheese samples. The first stop of the food truck is Toronto on Wednesday.

The campaign draws on the “Canadians Crave Armstrong Cheese” platform, which highlights the brand’s cheese slices and builds on the idea that taste is a major driver for Canadians when purchasing cheese, Galluccio says. Armstrong brought the platform to life through the proposition “It’s okay to bring your own”, which playfully hyperbolizes how far people will go to keep Armstrong cheese on them.

Galluccio adds that there was no better time to launch the campaign, since interest in natural sliced cheese peaks in the summer.

“Facing a season that is historically heavy on promotions from competitors, our objectives were two -fold, to drive awareness and volume of slices,” Galluccio says.

Dentsu is behind the creative, OMD handles media buying and planning, and Vibrant leads experiential strategy and execution.