La Fédération des Producteurs de lait du Québec

Milk in Quebec faced two significant challenges. First, children are the key milk drinkers and the population is aging, with the 65-plus segment now the fastest growing group. Secondly, milk competes in an expanding category marked by constant innovation, much of it now touting health-related benefits.

Milk did have one advantage – it’s not just a drink; milk is our childhood. The campaign aimed to evoke the warm, safe childhood feeling, creating a nostalgic moment.

In the 2009/10 fall/winter period, the economy and the influenza pandemic created insecurity, tension and stress. The goal was to show how Le Lait could counter that by recreating the comfort symbolized by a glass of milk. All communications efforts were aimed at evoking this comfort, and all led to a series of events called Les Soirées réconfortantes du Lait (Milk’s comforting evenings).

In addition to TV and radio, to spread the message “Lait, source naturelle de réconfort [Milk, a natural source of comfort],” an OOH campaign was developed in an array of formats. In an innovative twist, extensions (shaped like winter tuques) were tacked on to more traditional formats.

In digital, homepage takeovers introduced a Tricot Mania [Knitting Mania] game integrated into Facebook, making Le Lait the first Quebec advertiser to offer a free iPhone and iPod Touch game. The game challenged users to “knit” – Guitar Hero-style – an object that reveals itself to be a purple superhero mask.

Post-testing showed very high recall, attribution, appreciation and understanding rates, above norms for consumer goods (index at 411 vs. 100). The website received close to 150,000 visits – the tales from the events were made available to users and were listened to over 40,000 times – and Tricot Mania was played over 67,000 times.  And milk consumption in Quebec increased 1% (May 2010 vs. May 2009), reversing the general trend in milk consumption experienced throughout North America.