Canada's top food brand, President's Choice®, modernizes message to reflect today's broader customer cravings

BRAMPTON, ON, Sept. 18, 2014 /CNW/ - Loblaw Companies Limited (TSX: L) is ushering in a new era for President's Choice®, Canada's number-one consumer packaged goods brand*, under the rallying cry CRAVE MORE^TM. The brand is encouraging customers to expect more from their food, in an age when Canadians are caring and conversing more about the value, quality, taste, sources, ingredients and excitement of what they eat.

In support of the brand's new era, Loblaw is today launching the most ambitious and comprehensive campaign in its history: a modified brand position, an innovative television and print campaign, and a re-imagined digital and social media presence. It has also re-invented its pc.ca web site, which now includes a focus on lively content, a custom online community for food discussions, and a regionalized Canadian food-trend tracker, the Food Pulse Index™, created through a new initiative with Google Canada.  

"In an age when curiosity and scrutiny surround the purchase and enjoyment of food, President's Choice® will remain Canada's most thoughtful and engaged food brand," said Galen G. Weston, Executive Chairman and President, Loblaw Companies Limited. "Today's customer craves more distinct and exotic flavours. They crave more knowledge about what is healthy and what is not. They crave information about where their food comes from and how it is made. And they are engaging every day in passionate conversations about food quality, taste and trust."

For 30 years, the President's Choice® brand has advanced taste, trust and great food conversations. The trailblazing Insider's Report® first invited Canadians to discover and celebrate food;  The Decadent® line introduced a higher standard of richness to elevate what a chocolate experience could be; Memories Of®  products brought global flavours to Canadian kitchens; now a quarter-century old, PC®  G.R.E.E.N.^TM  was Canada's first eco label; PC® Organics offers Canada's widest selection of fresh and grocery organic products;  the PC® Blue Menu® brand combines healthier formulations with great taste;  with PC® Free From® meats are free of antibiotics and hormones; and the list of firsts continues, as the brand leads bold commitments around sustainable seafood, animal welfare, sodium reduction, and the elimination of artificial colours and artificial flavours from all President's Choice products.   

"The President's Choice® brand has led and served Canadian taste buds and food interests for three decades," said Weston. "We've never witnessed a time when our role as a food manufacturer and retailer has meant more. The modernization of our brand will mean more food innovation, greater consciousness around product sourcing and ingredients, and a heartier dialogue with Canadians who share our excitement and curiosity."

Marketing of the CRAVE MORE^TM rallying cry begins today with a 60-second ad celebrating food discovery – from the first time someone harvested honey from a buzzing hive, heated corn until it popped, and more. The ad closes with Galen G. Weston in the President's Choice® kitchen declaring "If you don't search for more, you'll never find it." This ad will be followed by a second which celebrates the natural colours of food, and the removal of all artificial colours and flavours from all President's Choice® products. The campaign includes television, print, digital, out-of-home, public relations and social media activities.

The launch of CRAVE MORE^TM is supported with a re-imagined digital and social media presence. The pc.ca web site is now oriented to initiate and host exploration of food trends, led by unique video, editorial and images from a newly assembled brand journalism team. The site will also amplify the Canadian food conversation by seeking and presenting food-related social media posts, and will host food-related discussions on its newly created online community.

The President's Choice® team will make Google search insights available with the Food Pulse Index™. The index is the first to track food trends nationally and by province, on the basis of Google search insights. Insights will be grouped by theme, search trends will be assessed against thousands of related words and terms, information will be assessed regionally and nationally, and the results will be presented visually and with editorial at pc.ca.

It is expected that the trends and conversation on pc.ca will help influence President's Choice® marketing and product developers.

Website:  pc.ca
Discoveries social community:  http://discoveries.presidentschoice.ca.
Facebook:   http://facebook.com/presidentschoice
Twitter & Instagram:   @preschoice

About Loblaw Companies Limited

Loblaw Companies Limited is Canada's food and pharmacy leader, the nation's largest retailer, and the majority unitholder of Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust. Loblaw provides Canadians with grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, banking, and wireless mobile products and services. With more than 2,300 corporate, franchised and associate-owned locations, Loblaw, its franchisees, and associate-owners employ approximately 192,000 full- and part-time employees, making it one of Canada's largest private sector employers.

Loblaw's purpose - Live Life Well - puts first the needs and well-being of Canadians who make one billion transactions annually in the Company's stores.  Loblaw is positioned to meet and exceed those needs in many ways: convenient locations; more than 1,050 grocery stores that span the value spectrum from discount to specialty; full-service pharmacies at more than 1,250 Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix locations and more than 500 Loblaw locations; no-fee banking with PC Financial; affordable Joe Fresh fashion and family apparel; and three of Canada's top consumer brands in Life Brand®, no name® and President's Choice®. Through the PC Plus™ and Shoppers Optimum® loyalty programs, more than one in every three Canadians are rewarded for shopping with the companies.  For more information, visit Loblaw's website at www.loblaw.ca and Loblaw's issuer profile at www.sedar.com.

*#1 claim based on data reported by Nielsen through its MarketTrack service for the 52-week period ending May 31, 2014 comparing President's Choice product sales to those of comparable national brands (excluding competitors' control brands) for major grocery retailer market throughout Canada excluding Newfoundland.  Copyright © 2014, The Nielsen Company.

SOURCE: Loblaw Companies Limited