Underwear brand Stanfield’s is touting its “Legendary Comfort” in its first campaign since abruptly moving the assignment last year to Halifax’s Extreme Group from John St., it’s agency partner of nearly 10 years.
Peter Porteous, senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Stanfield’s in Truro, NS, said the company’s first objective was to rebuild brand awareness after being out of market for “quite some time.”
He said the marketing, which makes extensive use of social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter, also reflected Stanfield’s desire to attract younger customers.
“We’ve been a 50-plus brand for quite some time, and our aspiration is be a 35-plus brand,” he said. “Our research indicated that we have gotten a little bit stale, both from a customer standpoint and a brand image standpoint, so we wanted to lighten it up and move [the demographic] down.”
The new digital and out-of-home campaign is promoting the company’s Henley, base layers and cotton boxer briefs products, as well as its new DryFX line of products. Stanfield’s product portfolio is comprised of approximately 100 core styles and about 17,000 SKUs, said Porteous.
Stanfield’s is also one of the few manufacturers still producing over-sized products, with some of its product lines going up to 7XL in size. Porteous said its larger sizes are “highly sought-after” on its ecommerce platform, since they are more difficult to find at retail.
The “Legendary Comfort” creative approach addresses Stanfield’s longevity (160 years in business), its Canadian heritage, and the connection that Stanfield’s customers have with the brand. Porteous said the company continued to receive regular letters from customers who share their history with the product, sometimes dating back decades.
“The relationship consumers have with this brand is fascinating,” said Extreme Group president and chief creative officer Shawn King. “Not that customers having a relationship with a brand is surprising, but that this is an underwear company.”
The video spots (two 30s, one of which is a cut-down version of a 60-second spot) were shot inside the Stanfield’s factory, with the creative concept featuring a spokesman addressing common customer questions about the brand.
One spot, “Canadian Pride,” addresses a customer question about whether much of Stanfield’s manufacturing is still done in Nova Scotia.
The spot features iconic Canadian symbols such as Mounties, maple syrup and back bacon on a conveyer belt as “O Canada” plays in the background, before mannequins wearing various Stanfield’s products appear and the spokesman informs viewers there is “nothing more Canadian” than a pair of Stanfield’s.
The payoff comes as the spokesman says Stanfield’s is even more Canadian than a goalie eating poutine and saying sorry, just as the equivalent visual representation rolls past. The spokesman then urges the goalie to “close that five-hole Jacques.”
Extreme Group has also created a toll-free number (1-844-STANNYS) that enables people to call and leave feedback about the brand. Customers who call the number are greeted by the spokesman’s voice inviting them to use their touch-tone phone to provide feedback: 1. For “super comfortable” 2. For “cool as ice” 3. For uber-Canadian and 4. For “surprisingly young for my age.”
Porteous said the hotline had its origins in a marketing initiative suggested by the Western Canadian retail chain Peavey Mart and based on the common “How’s my driving?” messages that appear on large trucks.
The transport trailer wrap features an image of boxer briefs with the message “How’s my underwear?” accompanied by the toll-free number. “We really like it a lot so we’re rolling it out nationally and through social media,” said Porteous.
Stanfield’s is also running out-of-home advertising in Toronto and Vancouver.
Stanfield’s is the market leader in the base layer (ie: long johns) category, while Porteous said it is a “growing brand” in the crowded all-season category, which includes everyday boxers and briefs.
The company moved its assignment to Halifax-based Extreme Group last year, with president Jon Stanfield citing a need for “new eyes and new energy” for the brand. Porteous said working with a Nova Scotia agency was “a mandate” during the search process.
“We decided that we wanted to work with local companies,” he said. “It was a strategy to support our own.”
While acknowledging that transitioning to a new agency “took some time,” Porteous said Extreme quickly grasped the brand heritage. “I was quite happy with how Extreme got in and understood our brand and consumer and came up with the creative idea,” he said.
Media planning for the campaign was handled by Halifax-based MW360 Media, with Active International handling the media buy.
