Schneiders is repositioning its brand with an aim to connect to today’s modern families, while celebrating its 125-year history.
The Maple Leaf Foods-owned brand is rolling out a new logo, new packaging for all of its meat product lines, a new marketing campaign and a new tagline, “A tradition of quality.”
“Schneiders is a brand that’s been around for a long time and the core target consumer is aging,” said Adam Grogan, SVP of marketing and innovation at Maple Leaf Foods. “It was really time to modernize it, bring it up to the times and have it start to attract more modern families.
“We didn’t want to lose the heritage and the traditions that come with the brand, but make it a bit more up-tempo in terms of the current market,” he added.
New 60- and 30-second TV spots, created by John St., show people engaged in various family traditions, such as watering a backyard ice rink and eating hot dogs at a campfire. The spot is set to people singing, “it’s tradition” and ends with the super, “Thanks for making us a part of yours.”
Maple Leaf Foods conducted focus groups across the country, talking to both brand loyalists and those who don’t purchase Schneiders products.
“What kept coming back was the history, the tradition and the quality of the brand,” said Grogan. “The word quality has been in the tagline for a long time and we had visual references of [founder] J.M. Schneider for many years in our spots, and [quality] seemed to be the one that came out the most.”
Maple Leaf also talked to consumers about their own family traditions. “We found that this idea of celebrating traditions, both big and small, was something that really was emotionally powerful for people,” said Jason Last, director of strategic planning at John St.
“It was amazing how often food was involved in those traditions, and in particular, meat. So we got to thinking that if there’s a brand that’s focused on quality like Schneiders has been for 125 years, it has the credibility to say it’s been a part of Canadian traditions for a long time.”
That led to Schneiders redefining its brand purpose. The thinking was Schneiders was “going to exist not just to make really high-quality meats, but to celebrate big and small traditions across this country and to encourage Canadians to keep them alive,” said Last. “So it’s a much more purposeful approach to the brand.”
The campaign also includes digital and social content on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, as well as Maple Leaf’s recipe platform. Upcoming ads will tell the stories of some of the people featured in the vignettes in the new commercial.
Over the next 18 months, Schneiders is rolling out new packaging for all its product lines, which include Country Naturals, Blue Ribbon and Lunchmate. Last said the new logo and packaging “were all built around trying to maintain that heritage of quality, but bring into a modern context with more modern craftsmanship.”
Schneiders also signed a one-year deal with Toronto Blue Jays outfield Kevin Pillar to represent the brand. Pillar is featured in a new online spot that shows Pillar surprising three boys, who are avid baseballs fans, with a visit to their house.
Last April, Schneiders extended its partnership with the Blue Jays as the team’s official supplier of hot dogs and sausages for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
