Stanfield’s revealed itself by dominating digital
Stanfield’s has some balls. The Nova Scotia-based underwear company shifted its media budget to digital a couple of years ago and has gone from success to success ever since.
In 2010 and 2011, it was the “Guy at Home in his Underwear” campaign that featured testicular cancer survivor Mark McIntyre being live streamed living his life for 25 days.
But in 2013, Stanfield’s kept that success coming with more digitally focused campaigns that prove it has mastered the art of earning huge online followings and media coverage with stunts that use relatable Canadian men (specifically ones in their underwear).
• Launched in November, “The Gitchhiker” campaign by creative agency John St. saw McIntyre trek across Canada in nothing but his skivvies, raising awareness and money for the Canadian Cancer Society. The company’s president, Jon Stanfield, calls it “quintessentially Canadian and really quintessentially Stanfield’s” because of the quirky nature of the campaign and extreme weather conditions McIntyre endured. “And none of our competition can say ‘Here’s a guy walking across Canada in his Canadian-made underwear,” says Stanfield. The campaign garnered a lot of unpaid PR play, but paid off on the bottom line, too. As the campaign hit full stride, Stanfield says the sales on the company’s e-commerce platform were lifted about three times.
• Gitchhiker was great but Stanfield says the company also wanted something longer lasting. “With stunts, you’re in the market for a few weeks, then you’re out and there’s a black hole,” he says. “I was leery of that.” To avoid that dreaded drop-off in awareness, Stanfield’s turned to digital once again with the “Stanfield’s + Comedy Exposed” competition. A partnership with The Comedy Network, the talent competition saw Canadians compete—in their underwear, naturally—for a cash prize and the chance to develop a pilot for The Comedy Network. Entries were submitted to a website where fans could rate their favourite submissions. Between the submission and judging process, plus the “halo effect” of using some of the content once the winner was announced, Stanfield says the program gave the brand exposure in the digital space for three or four months.
• Stanfield’s has stayed true to its “We Support Men” mantra in its branding and positioning by consistently creating awareness about “below-the-belt cancers.” It has also raised an impressive sum of money for the Canadian Cancer Society. “The Gitchhiker” campaign alone helped Stanfield’s raise $29,000 for the group and Stanfield says that with the money raised through “Guy at Home in his Underwear,” the company will be approaching $100,000 donated to the cause over a two-year period.
You can find out who will be named our Marketer of the Year on Jan. 29 at our Best of 2013 cocktail party. Want to attend? Lots of important people will be there. Visit us online for more information.
