Food Network Canada marks the return of its number one hit series, Top Chef Canada with the onslaught of a multi-faceted marketing campaign. The campaign, launched to amplify awareness of the second season, boasts a dramatic approach in all executions. The new season of Top Chef Canada premieres Monday, March 12th.
Designed to engage adults 25-54, the national four-week campaign with heaviest emphasis in Ontario builds on the greater intensity of competition that this season’s Canadian chefs face. Off-air executions depict the chefs standing proud atop a solid wood cutting board, seeming prepared for battle and armed with kitchen utensil ‘weaponry’. The headline “only one will taste the glory,” set against an epic, other-worldly sky backdrop, emphasizes the high level of competitive entertainment.
The creative is dominating the landscape through a variety of out-of-home placements. Large format billboards provide the creative a Herculean platform while consumers get a glimpse of the series through clip-based spots running on digital billboards in high traffic Toronto locations. Full page print ads in daily newspapers and big box online ads featuring the creative are hitting a wide yet targeted audience. A hit amongst consumers last season, knife-shaped AdBars take grocery stores by storm again across the Greater Toronto Area. To further extend the campaign reach in new and unexpected ways, Top Chef Canada is featured using branded bill inserts, matchbooks and posters in competitors’ restaurants and retail locations across the country.
An arsenal of dramatic on-air teases using footage from an original shoot have been progressively building anticipation on Food Network since December, culminating in a complete domination of all Shaw Media channels the day of launch. A similar 30-second clip based spots is also running on radio stations across Toronto.
The marketing campaign and materials were developed in-house by Shaw Media’s Marketing team.