Off to a Good Start
Situation Analysis: The ready-to-eat (RTE) cold cereal category had been besieged from all directions. Elsewhere in the grocery store, cereal bars, pre-made shakes, yogurt, gluten-free, instant, on-the-go, hot or cold options abounded while, beyond the store, QSR players such as McDonald’s, Tim Hortons and Subway were aggressively investing in breakfast. Little wonder the RTE cereal category was showing -1.4% compound annual decline since 2011. Shreddies, a beloved and iconic Canadian brand for 75 years, was declining even faster than the category, a situation that needed to be reversed.
Insight & Strategy: Four core truths about Shreddies were uncovered. Firstly, consumers appreciated its “what you see is what you get” quality and translated that to a reputation of dependability; an honest brand with no hidden motivations. Secondly, Shreddies’ personality was seen as genuinely good because of its nutritious, 100% whole wheat properties. Thirdly, simplicity was key to defining “genuine goodness”: to embody genuine goodness you must be uncomplicated and straightforward, and Shreddies was a simple cereal. Lastly, Shreddies being made in Canada reinforced positive attributes such as familiarity, friendliness and trust. Lapsed users needed to reconnect with the simplicity and dependability of Shreddies’ goodness in a way that leveraged the “what you see is what you get” honesty they clearly appreciated, but not in a nostalgic way.
Execution: Running from March to November 2013 in English Canada across television, print, digital, social and PR, simple stories of authentic Canadian goodness through real people who were making a difference every day in their communities demonstrated that the Shreddies brand and Canadians were inextricably linked. Public organizations across the country found Canadians such as Greg Epp, a Saskatoon resident who wakes up at the crack of dawn to flood the ice at his local arena, following his Shreddies breakfast, so that kids in the community can skate.
The campaign extended online with the launch of a mini documentary to deepen message delivery of Greg’s backstory and engage the Shreddies Facebook community with shareable content. Media spending was increased in fall 2013 to include digital and print supporting a “Search for Goodness” follow-up campaign leveraging the “Greg” spot to identify more genuinely good Canadians.
Results: After the launch of the “Greg” spot, original Shreddies experienced its best 10 months in over two years as baseline sales, which had been declining between -7 and -16% over the previous two years, increased 8% while the RTE cereal category declined -4%. The total Shreddies franchise increased 10%, indicating a positive halo effect, the brand outpacing all of the top 10 brands in the category.
Cause & Effect: Brand and advertising tracking showed those who were aware and could correctly brand “Greg” had a significantly higher purchase intent level than those unaware of the spot (42% vs. 28%). The fall follow-up, “Search for Goodness,” garnered over 6.34 million media impressions and 27 unique stories, all 100% positive in tonality while the Shreddies Facebook community increased from 49,205 to 65,329. The combined media and PR budget for the campaign was less than the previous year, while pricing, distribution and promotional activity remained unchanged versus the prior year.
Credits:
Client: Post Foods Canada
GM: Jennifer Hutchinson
Director, marketing: Jennifer Dumoulin
Senior insight & foresight managers: Neil Fleming, Linda Dominitz
Senior packaging brand design manager & social media community manager: Helen Park
Product manager: Melissa Machesano
Agency: Grey
CCO: Patrick Scissions
CD: James Ansley
Sr. AD: Rob Trickey
CW: Sue Kohm
VP of strategic planning: Malcolm McLean
VP managing director: Darlene Remlinger
Group account director: Patty Moher
Account director: Jen McLeod
Account supervisor: Renzo Mendoza
Account coordinator: Lauren Scapillati
Agency producer: Karen Blazer
PR agency: Media Profile
Account directors: Dane Gergovich, Jennifer Alsop-Lee
Consultant: Ginger Schewell
Media agency: MediaVest
VP group director: Steve Cotten
Strategy director: Paul Hewitt
Strategy manager: Eugenia Kung
Strategy supervisor: Marwan Abou-Guendia
Digital manager: Jenna Eager, Manager
