Why a Canadian Supermarket Is Keen to Keep ‘Giving You Extra’
Do you ever stop to consider whether the butterfly effect is real? That somehow, the small choices you make now could lead to far bigger impacts than you ever anticipated? Sure, there’s a lot to be said when looking at the events of a certain day - how each individual choice led you to end up where you presently are now, be it big or small - but what about something as simple as buying groceries? Can even such a traditionally mundane affair have long standing consequences?
According to a recent campaign by western Canadian supermarket Save-On-Foods, created in partnership with Zulu Alpha Kilo Vancouver, the answer is a resounding yes. Called ‘Giving You Extra’, the brand platform not only emphasises the ways in which the chain is all about giving people extra, but, via two 15-second spots, highlights how seemingly small things like buying the right strawberries or selecting sumptuous steaks can lead to life-altering results (in this case, a baby, and a marriage respectively).
Accompanied by the likes of extra savings-focused stories, radio ads, promotions and other activations, the new platform is fun, heartfelt, and is more than likely to make you think twice about what you’re buying the next time you find yourself in a grocery store.
LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with the team from Zulu Alpha Kilo, as well as Save-On-Foods’ director of marketing Tami Mitchell, to find out how this all came to life.
LBB> What was the brief, and what initial ideas came to mind?
Tami> When we chose Zulu as a partner, we were looking for both strategic and creative depth. We wanted to make sure our creative would break through while staying true to the core of what’s important to us as a brand. It’s easy enough to say we provide value to our customers, but demonstrating that in ways that are fun and memorable takes fresh, insightful thinking. From sharpening our strategic focus to developing creative that took the brand into new territory, the agency team dug deep to give us the right solutions for the time we’re living in.
ZAK> In a nutshell, the brief was to create a long-term campaign that could demonstrate the many ways people get more than just good prices at Save-On-Foods. We had a solid strategy based on fundamental truths about the brand, which is always a great place to start. After our initial creative development phase, a version of the final campaign was one of the first ideas we presented, and it was well-liked all around. Others quickly fell away, and that one flourished as we continued to develop it further.
LBB> This work comes as part of the new ‘Giving You Extra’ brand platform. Please tell us about this! What is it, what does it represent, and how does this campaign serve to further that platform?
Tami> The ‘Giving You Extra’ platform is all about the myriad of ways we give our customers extra, whether that’s extra fresh produce, extra local products, extra savings, extra friendly service, extra advice, extra convenience or being extra active in our communities. In fact, giving customers extra has been part of our DNA, going back to over a century ago with the Overwaitea Company, where we were known for giving customers 18 ounces of tea for the price of 16. Since then, the extras we give our customers have evolved along with our brand.
What we loved about the campaign was that it allowed us to show how the little extras we give can make a big difference in the lives of our customers. But more than that, as the Zulu team got to know us and our brand, they took our history to heart and refreshed the brand in a way that’s relevant in 2023. Plenty of open discussions, questions, and letting us ‘in the kitchen’ with them helped us get there and work things out together along the way, and as a result, the idea extends naturally across our operations, partnerships, and throughout our communication channels.
LBB> Running with the idea of how good food can influence the future is a fun idea! How did this come to pass, and what made it the right choice for the creative?
ZAK> Often, grocery store advertising reminds you of shopping, rather than cooking. Or, it’s just about cooking, and not why we’re cooking. The two 15-second ads in the campaign were a great way to kick things up a notch and show, via lighthearted scenarios, how little things can add up to a lot.
Also, knowing how short most people’s attention spans are - particularly when it comes to advertising - the creative team did a great job of creating fast-paced, rapid-fire stories, which only added to the entertainment factor. Each story needed to work in very few steps from the purchase to the pay-off, and each scene needed to be crystal clear in a few seconds of screen time.
Tami> We’ve all had food experiences that didn’t quite turn out as expected - for all kinds of reasons. But when things go well, it means a lot to us, our families and anyone we’re feeding. Our job is to make sure we give people everything they need to make the absolute most of the meals in their lives. So, when we first saw the stories about how the seemingly small extra things we do could lead to surprisingly good experiences for people, it felt like a natural fit. Plus, it was a nice way to bring some lightheartedness to the grocery category and make people smile!
LBB> The spots are hilarious! What was the writing process like, and how did you decide what to showcase - all while fitting it into a 15-second cut?
ZAK> We had a number of clear points to start with, like extra freshness, extra advice, extra ways to save, and others. The team tackled each one to see where it might go creatively, and came up with as many options as possible for each. From there it became an exercise of finding the best stories with the best products to feature, to figure out what would make for the best overall campaign; the final criteria being what we could afford to produce within budget.
LBB> Who directed the spots, and as a whole, how was the production process?
ZAK> Robjn Taylor directed the spots. The combination of his energy, enthusiasm, attention to detail, and the support of the incredible production team at Boldly made the spots shine!
The shoot took place in two locations over one day and two nights. The first location was a house in south Surrey, British Columbia, where we were able to stage multiple scenes for three different stories. The second location was a Save-On-Foods nearby, where we shot overnight for the in-store part of those same three stories. Thanks to our entire production team and the Save-On-Foods crew, it was all very tightly scheduled and went incredibly smoothly.
LBB> All the actors are brilliant! What was casting like, and what were you looking for?
ZAK> It was important for Save-On-Foods to portray the in-store experience as authentically as possible. That included casting from real employees to play their roles in the campaign. Save-On-Foods provided self-made casting tapes from employees who were willing to volunteer, and we had the fun job of reviewing them. The final choices really came down to the individuals who came across as being comfortable in front of the camera.
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
ZAK> One of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to make the most of our production dollars. Thankfully, with lots of creative thinking and sharp production people, we made it work.
Tami> A big challenge was choosing the right extras to feature in the ads. Because there are so many things we could talk about, we needed to narrow it down to a few that were clear, easy to demonstrate and could lead to entertaining scenarios that people could relate to… and find the right people to showcase this. Besides that, as with any project, we had to make sure our internal team was brought in, ensuring the message felt as authentic as possible.
Those aside, the biggest challenge was probably staying alert during the night shoots in our store. Coffee helped!
LBB> What lessons have you learned from the making of this campaign?
ZAK> Audio played a big role in the campaign. Finding the right notes to go with each of the quick-paced scenes was a crucial part of the storytelling and really helped drive the spots. Our partners at Wave Productions did a fantastic job in finding the right compositions.
Tami> One thing we’ve learned is that even in tough economic times, giving people a meaningful and relevant message that makes them smile can go a long way. It was encouraging to see how we could stick to the essence of what our brand stands for, without staying stuck in the past.
LBB> Since launch, how have people responded to this campaign?
ZAK> It’s still early days, but the initial reaction from the public has been great! Also, because the campaign inspiration comes from an ownable truth about the brand giving extra, it’s been well received internally, which is equally important.
Tami> The response has been great, both with customers and our people. In the short time this campaign has been in market, we’ve already received lots of positive responses, laughs, smiles and kudos.
LBB> How does this campaign fit into Save-On-Foods’ goals for 2023?
Tami> We’re happy we could launch the platform early in the year to help support our goals. Success in this campaign is having consumers believe in our brand and what we stand for: giving customers extra. We were just recently voted BC’s ‘Most Loved Brand’ for 2023 by British Columbians, and we’re both incredibly proud of that accomplishment, and grateful for the appreciation our customers show us and the trust they put in our brand.
