Strategic Milk Alliance

"Milk Every Moment"

Milk consumption has been on a historical decline. Once a staple beverage at the breakfast and dinner table, milk has been displaced by coffee, tea, juice, wine and beer.

While communication efforts to date had focused on a teen audience, known to abandon milk consumption as they start to assert their independence, research identified a secondary audience with the propensity to drink more milk: parents age 35 to 49.

For years, focus groups have talked about the "nutritional value of milk." But new research revealed that nutritional benefits were not motivators for an older target demographic.

Research showed that milk can elevate a taste experience with foods like cookies, cakes and sandwiches. Also, milk has a strong connection with memories from childhood. So DDB helped the Strategic Milk Alliance (SMA) walk away from nutrition messages and focus on reigniting milk's emotional relevance.

To reawaken milk cravings in both adults and teens, the agency focused on two things: moments that evoke nostalgia for a time when drinking milk was more common, and milk and food pairings that would drive taste appeal.

TV and Cinema were used to evoke memories of childhood; a time when milk played a much larger role in peoples' lives. OOH, print and online focused on perfect pairings that made milk seem irresistible again. Cheeky headlines highlighted milk's role in enhancing the taste experience of sandwiches, cookies and cake.

For the first time ever in Canada, a commodity category was given prominence through entire stores at Loblaw's and Safeway: the agency placed custom coolers and shelf talkers in almost every aisle, next to 24 different foods, reminding people how great milk would pair with the cookies, cakes, etc.

Finally, the website invited consumers to share pictures of themselves as children doing silly things for a chance to win an SLR camera in the "Milk Your Childhood" contest. The site also housed TV ads and provided milk pairing recipes.