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As marketers, you often have the chance to engage in interesting initiatives, including creative campaigns, groundbreaking advertising, and sponsorship programs that resonate with millions.
We sat down with Susan Irving, Chief Marketing Officer at Kruger Products, as part of our Campaign Corner+ series. We wanted to learn more about the brand's Made by Canadians, for Canadians campaign. Was it just about sticking a label on the new packaging, or does the team 'bleed maple syrup and offer beaver tails' in the staff cafeteria? (ok, maybe not those two) But as a Canadian brand, how true are they to their roots and earning the trust and mind share with Canadians?
What do you do?
Susan - My title is CMO, but what I love about being a marketer is that you're a problem solver. You hear that a lot, and it's leveraging creativity to solve a consumer's problem.
For me, when I talk to university students and they ask about what I do, a lot of them think that marketing is advertising. It's only about making TV ads or creative. At the end of the day ...
... a marketer is really a General Manager because you are trying to solve consumer problems, but do it in a way that you are driving profitability for your company. Driving brands that are going to be around longer than you are. I've always been told to leave the brand healthier than when I received it. Be it price, pack, promotion, or quality. You are really an entrepreneur and running that brand as a business. And that to me is what's exciting about marketing. Susan - What's important to know is that Made in Canada has always been part of our DNA. We are a Canadian company with plants coast to coast, and a very proud Canadian heritage. We give back to the communities in which we operate. 2,300 Canadian employees, nine manufacturing plants across the country. And we represent over 48% of Canada's tissue output. So we are a Canadian company and have always talked about it. So this was never about taking advantage of a situation. We've had 'Made in Canada' proudly on all our packages We had our Made in Canada promotion for July 1st on Canada Day, and we celebrate other points in time that are important for Canadians. I think right now, what's important, given the current situation, it has become very important for Canadians to know what products are Canadian, and in fact, consumers are switching to Canadian brands, and you need to do everything you can to remind consumers top of mind, to make it easier for them to know when they're at the moment of truth, which is at the shelf that they're buying Canadian. So we launched a campaign in March. We call it the bathroom, not the restroom. But just some puns like 'double ply.' There are a couple of them just to resonate in a quirky way that were Canadian. We then just followed up with a campaign for Purex, another one for Cashmere. As well as sponge and then our promotion in store, which is that we know Canadians wanna travel and they wanna travel in Canada, so we're giving away a trip to travel within Canada. So the campaign is about a celebration of Canadian pride at a time when it's the strongest, and really aims to strengthen the emotional connection with our consumers, versus really being a short-term promotional discount strategy. As I said earlier, we know Canadians want to support products made in Canada. And from a recent study, we found that 88% of Canadians say buying Canadian-made products is more important to them now than it was a year ago. And that supports Canadian businesses as a way to contribute to national resiliency. So it's important. And I think the big change now, you always hear about National Women's Day. National Daughter's Day. It's a day, right? July 1st, Canada Day. It's a day, right? You're now seeing, we are now trying to, it's important for Canadians to make this more of a movement and not a moment. Susan - But I do believe this is giving Canadians a reason to be proud to be Canadian. And I think it's stronger than we've ever seen it. I don't think it's going to go away, especially as the Olympic Games approach. Moments in time, being proud of our athletes, being proud of how Canadians do around the world. click to enlarge) Can you give us a brief overview of the Made in Canada campaign?
Do you think this movement will last?
But I do think the theme of Made in Canada, Canadian pride, will be strong for a while, and I hope it does stay!
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