Black Diamond’s new campaign highlights the work it has started doing with Food Banks Canada to provide fresh food to those in need. Acording to the brand, there were over two million visits to food banks in March, representing a 6% increase compared to 2023, and a 90% increase compared to 2019.
The campaign relies on social networks and a combination of traditional and digital media. Through a partnership with Postmedia, the brand has launched the campaign on the National Post’s website and in its print edition, along with newspaper ads in the Vancouver Sun.
Enrique Larez, director of marketing at Black Diamond, tells MiC that in previous years, TV and radio were the focal point of the brand’s advertising strategy. However, with digital media increasingly popular among a wide range of demographics, the team has increased its ad spend on that channel.
“That’s not to say that we have abandoned traditional media completely,” Larez says. “We published sponsored content in National Post to increase our reach and share more details about our partnership through storytelling, something that is difficult to do in short-form videos or social media posts.”
According to Larez, Postmedia was chosen for this campaign because it reaches a broad general audience across English-speaking Canada, ensuring coverage from coast to coast. And “although the campaign is still active, we’re already seeing outstanding results that are surpassing Postmedia’s benchmarks for sponsored content so far,” he says.
This is the first year Black Diamond is partnering with Food Banks Canada (FBC). It also shows Black Diamond’s donation of $75,000 in fresh cheese to food banks, as well as its support in delivering the donations across the country. “Our strategy is to leverage our popular brand to actively support FBC’s efforts to help combat hunger among Canadians in need,” Larez says.
Larez notes that the partnership fits with the brand positioning launched earlier this year, which focuses on the role Lactalis-owned Black Diamond plays in bringing families together around home-cooked meals. The collaboration is also part of Lactalis’ goal to continue investing in its CSR initiatives.
“We have made tangible gains towards our ESG goals and continue to work collaboratively and proactively with our customers, suppliers, dairy farmers, government, industry and community partners,” Larez says. “Our key ESG priorities at Lactalis Canada are focused on circular economy and packaging, climate and animal welfare and these are supported through our brand initiatives.”
Zenith Media handled the buy, while Broken Heart Love Affair was behind creative and Heads & Tales led PR.
