Frito-Lay Canada has launched a multimillion-dollar national campaign designed to bind its Lays brand closer to Canada by helping consumers explore the country from coast to coast.
The new “Chip Trips” program offers discounts with several partner organizations. By registering online, Lays-buyers can collect points that become discounts for museum admissions, theatre tickets, hotel rooms or car rentals.
Points can also be spent with several restaurant chains, including Boston Pizza and Subway.
There are more than 360 partner organizations involved in the promotion, with more expected to sign up over its 16-week duration.
The program kicked off this week as more than 100 million Lays products across 69 SKUs began appearing on retailers shelves, some with region-specific packaging.
A digital display and search campaign is currently advertising “Chip Trips” ahead of the television, radio and online campaigns that hit the market May 3.
According to Tony Matta, vice-president of marketing for Frito-Lay Canada, the program is meant to engage consumers with the prospect of more affordable summer vacations, although points can be redeemed until the end of the year.
He said Frito-Lay is constantly looks for ways to strengthen its brand connection with Canadians.
“We’re at every backyard barbecue… We’re in over 60% of Canadian households,” said Matta. “There are very few brands that can make an economic or societal change…[“Chip Trips”] is about Lays doing its part to stimulate the economy and give value to Canadians from all walks of life.”
Several other brands linked to Frito-Lay through its parent company PepsiCo have used similar strategies in other markets; “Brit Trips” ran in the U.K. and Tropicana had its “Juicy Rewards” offer in the U.S.
“Canada has a such a unique geography in terms of its pockets of population,” Matta said. “The challenge was having enough breadth that, regardless of whether you lived in a an urban centre or a remote part of Saskatchewan, you felt like you were included.”
That breadth is what sets “Chip Trips” apart from its forbearers, said Hugo Amos, marketing manager for the Lays brand.
“The Tropicana rewards program, for example, is heavily driven by partnerships with a handful of organizations, whereas this one is individual negotiations with partners across the country to give genuine relevance,” Amos said.
Frito-Lay Canada conceived its version last spring in conjunction with several Frito-Lay communication agencies: BBDO Canada, Capital C, public relations firm Fleishman Hillard and media house OMD.
The snack maker also worked extensively with the Canadian Tourism Commission to find the best-of-breed attractions in each locality; an effort that complements the CTC’s “Local Knows” campaign started last year aimed at getting Canadians to travel within their own country.
