Loblaw’s President Choice brand recently teamed up with chefs from across Canada to create regionally inspired hamburgers for the barbecue season.
The “Ultimate Burger” PR campaign tasked chefs with creating a burger using PC products launching this summer. Chefs were encouraged to put a regional and creative spin on their burgers. For example, in Atlantic Canada, Craig Flinn, owner of Chives Canadian Bistro and Two Doors Down in Halifax, created the Fog Buster Scallop Bacon Burger using PC Nova Scotia Wild Sea Scallops and topped with new PC Naturally Smoked Bacon Rounds.
“There’s increasing PR power in regional information and there’s even greater power in local voices discussing local tastes, which is something I think we achieved beautifully here,” said Kevin Groh, vice-president of corporate affairs and communication at Loblaw Companies Ltd.
“The program works regionally and it works nationally, but if it really does its job, we’ll see people customizing their own burger that best represents their neighbourhoods or even their families.”
In B.C., chef Dino Renaerts, partner and executive chef at The Bon Vivant in Vancouver, created the West Coast Mediterranean Portobello Burger; in Alberta, food writer Dan Clapson dreamed up the Spice of the Prairies Burger made with PC Free From Bison Burgers; and Rob Bragagnolo, executive chef at Toronto’s Marben Restaurant created the Great Lakes Guac and Gouda Burger.
The chefs will be doing media tours in their local markets to showcase their regional creations. “We traditionally don’t use celebrity spokespeople, but the chefs are a great local voice with a unique knowledge of local tastes,” said Groh. “So it’s a good fit with the brand, which is about authenticity and a deep appreciation for food.”
Loblaw worked with its PR agency, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, on the campaign.
