Old habits die hard, but Burnaby-based protein powder company Vega believes it can shake up Canadians’ daily routines.
The company has launched a new Toronto-centric campaign tied to the tagline “Shake Up Your Routine.” It encourages shoppers to make small, healthy life changes that are sustainable and can be carried into old age.
“It recognizes that we all get caught up in a routine,” explains John Edmonds, Vega’s creative director. “We wake up and put things in our system that might not be the best for us, but it’s not because we don’t have a desire to do better.”
Campaign creative compares having a traditional breakfast, such as cereal or toast, to starting your day with a smoothie using Vega. “Start your day with nutrition that doesn’t taste like the box it came in,” reads one ad.
“We’d love for folks to know there’s more nutrition with [Vega] but we don’t want to hit them over the head with it,” says Edmonds. “Instead, we’re just trying to show the tiny changes you can make in your day. We’re showing the health changes you can make in the same amount of time as your old routine.”
Edmonds says Vega “cut its teeth” in Burnaby, and is now a well-entrenched brand with high awareness in Vancouver. “We looked at Toronto as a place where there was great distribution, but not necessarily the same awareness as in Vancouver,” he said. “We wanted to see if there was a way to spike awareness and cut through the clutter.”
Vega kicked off the campaign during TIFF. The brand did a “wake up, shake up” event at The Addisons Residence. Influencers, bloggers and TIFF participants were invited to the morning event, which featured a DJ, yoga, Vega mimosas and a “green carpet” to play on the festival’s red carpet.
Future campaign elements include billboards and transit takeovers, digital and retail activations and experiential events. Over the next week, Vega will hold sampling events across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.
Experiential events and sampling are key to the Vega brand, says Edmonds. By being able to interact directly with customers, says Edmonds, Vega is able to describe the nutrition behind the product, but also communicate the company’s philosophy, which centres around health and welleness.
Toronto will serve as the first test market for Vega’s integrated campaign, and future campaigns will start in the U.S. and expand globally based around Toronto results.
This article originally appeared at CanadianGrocer.com.
