Yield Branding’s newest creative assignment is small potatoes.
Cavendish Farms has awarded the Toronto agency the assignment for its flagship brand of frozen potatoes, From the Farm, following a multi-agency review.
Yield was one of two agencies shortlisted for the assignment, said Suzanne Milner, senior brand manager for Cavendish Farms in Dieppe, NB. “We felt they really understood our business issues,” said Milner. “Having not worked with frozen food previously, they invested the time to really understand the category and our current status within it.”
The assignment will last approximately 18 months and is expected to include traditional advertising, digital strategy and in-store. Cavendish introduced the From the Farm brand in 2007, using Moncton agency Hawk for the launch campaign. However, the company has not used an agency for the past couple of years, said Milner.
Yield’s first work is expected within the next 12 months, positioning the brand as a simple, premium product. “We’re really going to focus on the simplicity of the brand and the fact they are 100% Prince Edward Island potatoes,” said Yield president Ted Nation.
Marketing is expected to be a combination of traditional advertising, digital and in-store said Nation. “You do need to have some traditional advertising, but we’re very aware of the importance of digital and the in-store component as well,” he said.
Yield may also develop some trade marketing for the brand. “We’ll be taking a holistic point of view and looking at it not just from a consumer standpoint but a trade standpoint as well,” said Nation. “Both are equally important—you can’t sell a product if you can’t get some impact in-store.”
A division of the Irving Group of Companies, Cavendish Farms is North America’s fourth largest producer of frozen potato products for retail, restaurant and quick-service restaurants. Its main competitors include McCain and private label brands.
Cavendish Farms has also awarded media for the From the Farm brand to Cairns O’Neil Strategic Media, a new media start-up launched earlier this year by industry veterans David Cairns and Sherry O’Neil.
“We are thrilled to have won the Cavendish Farms media assignment,” said O’Neil. “We were happy to get the opportunity to partner with Yield in developing strategic plans for Cavendish Farms. While the plans have yet to be finalized we expect to be active in the market over the next 12 months.”