2023 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Kraft Peanut Butter has been an iconic Canadian brand for over 60 years. Its communication utilized saccharine nostalgia to maintain relevance, allowing the brand to rest on its laurels when it came to how it expressed its purpose - to nourish connections. But in recent years, new category entrants put pressure on the number one peanut butter to find a new way to stay relevant.

They objective was to engage existing and re-engage lapsed users by targeting an issue that was of significance to the brand and its users as a way to build on its purpose, and ultimately, reaffirm the trust Canadians’ have in the brand and its products. The business challenge was to stem further loss to new category entrants
while knocking the dust off the brand.

They looked at key barriers the brand faced. One seemingly impossible barrier rose to the top—food allergies. One in three Canadians are impacted by food allergies. Most reactions are caused by peanut products, of which peanut butter sells the most – making peanut butter the poster child for food allergy issues.

Treatment for anaphylactic reactions is epinephrine auto-injectors, which
cost nearly twenty-five times more than the allergen it protects against (in this case, a jar of Kraft Peanut Butter). The worst part? Canadians face out-of-pocket expenses for this life-saving medication.

Acknowledging your product causes life-threatening allergic reactions sounds insane, unless by acknowledging the problem, you become the solution. By tackling the issue head-on, they were able to not only change perceptions of their brand, but they became the true consumer champion of eradicating peanut allergies.

To alleviate stress for Canadians around an issue that Kraft Peanut Butter is directly connected to, they launched Protection for Peanuts, a fund to offset the cost of life-saving epinephrine injection pens.

They took a 360-degree approach to media with contextually relevant targeting against allergy groups, parents, pharmacies, etc. to best reach impacted Canadians. They also partnered with NHL player Alexis Lafreniere, who has a severe peanut allergy, to further spread awareness. To make a bigger impact, they encouraged other peanut-based brands to join us in our mission.

Protection for Peanuts achieved 125.2MM earned impressions, far surpassing our target of 20MM by 626%. The story was picked up 331 times, including coverage from top national news outlets like Globe and Mail, National Post, and Toronto Star.

Online, it saw an engagement rate of 6% (overdelivering vs. benchmark) in Facebook and Instagram as Canadians shared the news. Sentiment was over 50% positive, with consumers expressing gratitude and support for the campaign. They received numerous heartwarming messages from Canadians impacted by food allergies and even received support from Food Allergy Canada, a leading non-profit organization dedicated to helping Canadians with food allergies.

Most importantly, they successfully offset the cost of essential epinephrine medication for Canadians in need, fulfilling $75,000 in reimbursements.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman
Chief Strategy Officer: Sean McDonald
Executive Creative Director: Mike Dubrick
Creative Director: Jamie Marcovitch, Natasha Michalowska, Joel Holtby
Art Director: Rachel LeBlanc
Writer: Ryan Cookish
Print Producer: Terri Winter
Lead Strategist: Julian Morgan
Strategist: Marguerite Gaylie
Account Services: Joanna Oszczak, Allie Kennedy, Karlee Bedford, Kai de Bruyn Kops
Client Supervisor: Daniel Gotlib, Jacqueline Chao