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Canned food sales have been on the decline for years. Consumers are paying closer attention to the materials used to package the products they buy, which is a differentiating strength for steel food cans. This revealed an opportunity. By leveraging the sustainability benefits of steel food cans, we could elevate the quality perception of canned goods, create meaningful preference and increase purchases.
Driving consumer preference for canned goods
Building on existing research from our coalition partners, we conducted virtual ethnographies to understand can-buyer behaviors and beliefs. We discovered three value cohorts — Extrinsic, Intrinsic and Anxious — along with a single most compelling idea: Steel cans hold more than food; they hold the things we believe in.
We developed a strategic communications construct to guide our work, which led to Canned Good™, a movement to spread the word about all the good things steel cans can do. Which is a lot of things.
We tested messaging through a TURF analysis (Total Duplicated Reach and Frequency) to determine which framing of the single most compelling idea worked best and which reasons to believe were most motivating. This work not only told us how much of the market we could expect to capture, but it also helped us land on the right combination of proof points for the campaign: supreme recyclability, made from recycled steel, and ability to reduce food waste.
The highly effective omnichannel campaign included hundreds of pieces of content, many featuring our “Spokescan,” who touted the benefits and showed up in video content everywhere from recycling centers to grocery aisles.
The campaign included social content and digital ads, owned channels, influencers and a complete website with a portal for key partners to access campaign materials to promote organically.
We also partnered with retailers during key promotions and activation periods, with significant sales results.
Launch. Test. Refine. Optimize.
In Year 1, participating brands experienced a +22 to +52% increase in sales during the activation period versus the previous year. Building on that success, we refined and optimized the existing content based on testing, which led to even greater effectiveness in Year 2: +5% to +317% sales lift, depending on the store. In 2023, the campaign also saw a +19% increase in consumer mindset regarding favorability and perception of the steel food can.
52%
Sales increase in Year 1 for participating brands
317%
Sales increase in Year 2 for participating brands
19%
Increase in Positive Consumer Mindset