2021 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Objectives & Challenges

For decades, Goldfish crackers have been a favourite snack for kids, but sales growth is under pressure by a growing set of competitors, making Goldfish one of many choices in the mix.
Previously, Goldfish relied on a tried-and-true ‘Smiles’ campaign that spoke to parents through the lens of an animated Goldfish universe. While the playful world of Goldfish had strong recognition, it had become less engaging. To earn higher prominence at snack time, Goldfish needed to move from a passive relationship to a more engaging one.
The brand needed a shift to unlock the emotional relationship that can sustain brand preference. In 2020, it set some aggressive targets: to increase relevance & brand equity, as well as a Net Sales Growth Target of +7.2%.

Insight & Strategy

Goldfish focuses on parents of children aged 6–11. Research shows that virtually all Canadian parents (99%) see imagination as important, but half of kids surveyed had difficulty creating their own ideas and 60% of parents needed help sparking their kids’ imaginations.
Snack time for kids is obviously a functional necessity. Research showed how much kids played with the brand’s fish when snacking. Which means snack time could be so much more than physical fuel. It could be an emotional space for kids to unleash their imaginations. The fish-shaped cracker naturally invites play – and could encourage kids to create stories, songs, art and general silliness. Goldfish could release the unlimited potential of kids to open up to their imaginations.
The idea was to turn snack time into imagination time by helping kids see the unlimited potential of their own creativity.

Execution

Inspired by what can happen when you combine an open mind, a whimsical fish-shaped cracker and snack time, Goldfish launched the purpose-fuelled “Feed Imagination” platform. Normally, the family fridge plays host to kids’ artwork. The brand thought it deserved a bigger stage, so it put the art out there for the world to see on the biggest platform it could find.
The team documented three real children’s impromptu storytelling moments. Those video stories were brought to life, surprising our young talent, on an outdoor billboard, in a published physical storybook and as a playable video game that launched on Snapchat.

The campaign continued with a kids’ contest where Goldfish shared imaginative winners with Canada by transforming its media into a national library (digital storybooks) and a national art gallery (out-of-home). And, in store, shoppers could discover an on-pack experience where a QR code launched an AR game that brought families into an imaginative Goldfish world.
Finally, to establish its commitment to kids’ imaginations, Goldfish developed the first-ever “Imagination Index”, measuring and tracking the value and practice of feeding imagination for Canadian parents.

Results

Helping parents feed imagination in their kids translated into equity and, importantly, sales.
Equity tracking excelled with brand “Love” 20% above norm, “Goldfish values imagination” was 13% above norm and Purchase Intent was 17% above norm. Engagement in creative was strong with “Involvement” up +19% from norm. Contest submissions were also +1,000% from the benchmark. Net Sales Growth Target increased +7.2%: and was pacing to overachieve vs target with consumption up +9% YTD at time of case writing (Nov. 2020). The campaign also tracked +13MM PR impressions, including local coverage in the Globe & Mail, CBC and Toronto Star, and globally in Ad Age’s “Pick of the Day” and Contagious’ “World’s Best Creative.”

Credits

Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Chief Creative Officer: Zak Mroueh
Creative Director: Susie Lee
ACD, Writer: George Ault
ACD, Art Director: Jacob Gawrysiak
Social Creative Team: Philippe Visaya, Victoria Lee
Designer: Vince Rozas
Account Team: Alyssa Guttman, Erin McManus
Planning Team: Heather Segal, Sean Bell
Client: Campbell Canada
Clients: Mieka Burns, Paloma Bentes, Friyana Engineer, Mariah Weir
PR agency: Proof Strategies Inc.
Media agency: Spark Foundry
Shopper Agency: The Mars Agency
French partner: The French Shop
Developer: Kyle Collins
Producer: Rebecca Adams, Michael Oshell
Studio Director: Greg Heptinstall
Studio Artist: Andrew Martin, Cecilia Bernasch
Production Company: Zulubot
Director: Barbara Shearer
Executive Producer: Tom Evans
Production House Producer: Mitch Cappe
Director of Photography: James Andrews
Casting Director: Ground Glass Casting – Andrew Deiters
Editing Company: Zulubot
Post Production Producers: Sarah Dayus, Mariya Guzova, Adam Palmer
Editor: Max Lawlor
Animation: Mike Sevigny
Colourist: Hardave Grewal
Online: Alex Boothby
Illustration: Polyester Studios
Printing: Flash Reproductions Inc.
Retouching: Nabil Elsaadi
Audio House: Zulubot
Audio Engineer & Mix: Dino Cuzzolino
Music Supplied: Eggplant
Music Director: Roc Gagliese
Executive Producer/Head of Production & Music Licensing: Nicola Treadgold
Producer: Laura Merrett
Music Audio Engineer: Peter Pacey