Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) thought outside the newspaper box as part of its ongoing “Get Enough” campaign and its association with Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada.
DFC and its media agency, Initiative Media, worked with the free daily Metro to transform 75 of its distribution boxes in Halifax, Montreal and Toronto into oversized milk cartons. It is the first time that Metro has physically altered its boxes for advertising purposes, said Carolyn Sadler, vice-president of sales at Star Metro Media.
“It’s really important to us to look at innovation in media to make sure we’re breaking through the clutter,” said Nathalie Savoie, assistant director for nutrition with DFC in Montreal. “People are tuning out advertising, so we need to find interesting ways to grab attention and get our message through.”
Metro also ran a cover wrap promoting Dairy Farmers’ Get Enough app in eight markets: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Ottawa. The organization has also pledged to donate $1 to the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada for each day that Canadians use the app.
The March 21 cover wrap also contained statistics about colorectal cancer, dispelling several common myths about the disease while also suggesting ways readers could lower the risk of contracting the disease – such as regular screenings, regular exercise and consuming fruits, vegetables, whole grains and milk.
According to DairyNutrition.ca, colon cancer is the third most common cancer among both males and females, and the second leading cause of mortality in the Western World – with as many as 22,000 Canadians developing the disease each year.
Another recent report from the American Cancer Society said higher consumption of dairy products, milk and calcium has been shown to decrease the risk of developing colorectal cancer, regardless of milk fat content.
Research has shown a 22% risk reduction among adults who consume higher quantities of milk, and a 16% reduction among individuals consuming higher quantities of other milk products.
The partnership with Metro is part of the DFC’s broader “Get Enough” campaign, which also includes digital, out-of-home and TV. The campaign also reflects the organization’s ongoing relationships with both the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Osteoporosis Canada.
DFC and its agency, KBS Montreal, have created three 30-second TV ads promoting milk, yogurt and cheese that support each of its three partnerships. It plans to shift spend levels throughout the year, reflecting Stroke Month in June and Osteoporosis Awareness Month in November. In addition to touting the products’ nutritional and taste benefits, the spots also promote the Get Enough app and DFC’s financial commitment to the three organizations.
Currently, about half of DFC’s TV ad spend is going toward a milk ad promoting its association with the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada, with the remaining 50% split between the other two organizations.
The campaign is aimed primarily at women 35-64, a demographic Savoie said is increasingly interested in their own health and wellness. “Before that they tend to take care of their family’s health, but don’t pay too much attention to their own,” she said.
According to the Canadian Dairy Information Centre, per capita consumption of fluid milk has fallen steadily over the past two decades, from 90.05 litres in 1996 to 70.64 litres in 2015.
However, per capita consumption of cheese (a category that includes cheddar, specialty and cottage cheese) has increased in that period, from 10.7 kilograms in 1996 to 12.51 in 2015, while yogurt consumption has more than tripled, from 3.17 litres to 10.53 litres.
