2023 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Quebec once loved milk unconditionally. But in 2022, only 4% of Quebec consumers considered milk to be a necessary product for modern life, and milk’s market shares had begun to slide. Quebec’s dairy farmers needed to find out why. So they conducted exhaustive market research with Quebecers and discovered that the industry’s negative environmental image was having a major impact on milk consumption.

Advertising from competitors suggesting that plant-based milk alternatives were a healthier, greener choice was turning things sour. While sales of plant-based beverages have increased by 33% annually over the past five years, the research revealed a low level of awareness among Quebecers regarding the environmental efforts of dairy farmers.

As a result, milk’s market share was slowly declining in favour of plant-based beverages, perceived by many as a better choice thanks to the healthy properties of plants. With that in mind, their objectives were to curb the decline by boosting sales during the campaign by 30% vs. the previous period, ensure a good ROI for their initiative, and make milk a “better choice”: Half of those surveyed say they prefer milk to plant-based drinks.

The research showed that Quebecers believed the milk industry was behind the times and hadn’t evolved to meet current expectations regarding sustainable consumption. Although Quebec’s dairy farmers have been engaged in environmental issues for decades, most Quebecers weren’t aware of this, in part because the organization has struggled to document the varied practices of its 10,000 farmers.

To regain their place in the hearts and bellies of consumers, Quebec’s dairy farmers needed to change Quebecers’ perceptions of farmers’ environmental commitment and (re)position milk as a responsible choice.

Rally all farmers around a common vision their marketing research approach, combining interviews, workshops, and surveys, highlighted the impact of the industry’s negative environmental image on milk consumption. The results convinced farmers they needed to rally around a common goal: to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Work with leading experts to turn words into action With the help of agronomists and dairy farmers across the province, they identified a list of environmental actions taken on dairy farms.

In collaboration with the Chaire en éco-conseil, they segmented farmers’ actions into four pillars and determined which ones could best change Quebecers’ perceptions based on their main criticisms and concerns. Conducted by an independent firm in an unbiased manner, a life cycle assessment of the dairy industry quantified its environmental footprint. Humbly acknowledge their role in the problem as well as
the solution.

Their vision of achieving carbon neutrality had to resonate with consumers to change perceptions of the industry, so they developed a realistic and tangible commitment that all farmers could uphold. The dairy industry isn’t perfect, but farmers are working hard to improve it. As such, the tagline "Raising the bar" became the main narrative line to anchor the actions already in place...and the promise of those to come.

A carbon-neutral campaign for responsible marketing Consistent with the message, the campaign – rolled out in the fall of 2022 with over 25 touchpoints – was carbon-neutral. A TV spot presented farmers’ commitment to their ongoing actions. Based on the research, four 15-second videos dispelled expected consumer criticism with factual and humorous responses. OOH, print, digital, and social pieces and partnerships with major media outlets lent credibility to the commitment.

In addition to uniting the dairy industry and pushing farmers to be more ambitious in reducing their environmental impact, “Raising the Bar” had the best market impact results for any PLQ campaign in the last 25 years. Curbing milk’s decline, a 69% increase in sales during the campaign, and milk sales that were 58.82% higher in Quebec than elsewhere in Canada.

Ensuring a good ROI Teaming up with PwC economists, they created an econometric model to validate the campaign’s return on investment with a 90% confidence interval. With a sales lift of +1.7M litres of milk during the campaign, PwC’s results confirmed Raising the Bar had an ROI of 141% and an ROAS of 240%, a higher return than Bitcoin’s in 2022. Making milk “a better choice” 9 75% of respondents now say that milk is a better choice than plant-based beverages (target: 50%).

Changing perceptions of the industry 10 - 91% of respondents indicated that the campaign made them aware of farmers’ initiatives to reduce their environmental footprint (target: 70%) - 88% of respondents thought the campaign was credible - +10% of respondents said they’re proud of the local dairy industry.

Credits

[Company Credits]
CREATIVE AGENCY: LG2
CLIENT: Les Producteurs de lait du Québec
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Cinélande
POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Rodéo FX, Post 430
SOUND STUDIO / ENGINEERING: La Majeure
MEDIA AGENCY: Touché!

[Individual Credits - Agency - LG2]
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICERS: Marc Fortin, Luc du Sault
VICE-PRESIDENT, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Marilou Aubin
VICE-PRESIDENT, STRATEGY: Sophie-Annick Vallée
VICE-PRESIDENT, ACCOUNT SERVICES: Marie-Christine Cayer
CREATIVE DIRECTION: François Sauvé, Marc-André Dandurand, Catherine Dorion
COPYWRITING: Guillaume Bergeron, Samuel Bernard, Marc-André Towner
ART DIRECTION: Mario Pesant, Philippe Leduc, Sébastien Legault
STRATEGIC PLANNING: Philippe Goudreault, Marie-Eve Gosemick, Yann Edouard Cayard
UX DESIGNER: Léna Masse, Anne-Marie Lavoie
UI DESIGNER: Sophie Giraldeau, Laurent Vénérosy
ACCOUNT SERVICES: Karine Payette, Émilie Masse, Carl Milette, Andréa Fortin, Anne-Sophie Forget,
Raphaëlle Brousseau-Letellier
GROUP DIRECTOR:
PROJECT MANAGEMENT, PRODUCTION: Emmanuelle Gauthier-Laquerre
TECHNICAL DIRECTION: Romain Prache
DEVELOPERS: Romain Avalle, Rémi Clermont, Cédric Givord
AGENCY PRODUCTION: Stéphanie Gagné
GRAPHIC PRODUCTION: Frédéric St-Denis
MAC ARTISTS: Frédéric St-Denis

[Individual Credits - Production Company - Cinélande]
PRODUCER: Sophie Gérard
DIRECTOR: Jean-François Asselin
DOP: Steve Danyluk

[Individual Credits - Post-production Company - Post 430]
EDITING: Mathieu Lebel
COLORIZATION: Mathieu Lebel

[Individual Credits - Sound Studio - La Majeure]
ENGINEERING:
MUSIC:

[Individual Credits - Media - Touché!]
MEDIA DIRECTOR: Gabrielle Côté,
ASSOCIATED DIRECTOR: Guillaume Girard
MEDIA SUPERVISOR: Simon Wautier
ASSISTANT-STRATEGIST: Antony de Varennes
DIGITAL TEAM LEAD: Manndy Lachance
PLATFORM MANAGER: Lisa-Marie Côté
PLATFORM ANALYST: Yosr Bouchaala
AUDIO-VIDEO SUPERVISOR: Caroline Drouin

[Individual Credits - Client - Les Producteurs de lait du Québec]
Julie Gélinas, Sara Bujold, Alyssa Chapleau