Drake is no stranger to Canadian retail, from setting 2013’s “Started From the Bottom” video in a Shoppers Drug Mart to dropping a bar about walking to a Circle K after running out of sodas on the recently release track “Fortworth.”
In a cultural-reaction activation, the convenience chain is giving app users in Ontario and Western Canada the chance to collect a coupon for a Polar Pop fountain drink by commenting “Outta Sodas” on Instagram, supported by creative from Grey.
Image courtesy of Circle K
Carolane Juanéda, Circle K’s director of marketing, tells strategy that a reference from an artist as influential in Canadian culture as Drake was too good to pass up.
Circle K says it’s looking to create a more personalized customer experience through the “Outta Sodas” activation by delivering the offer directly to each participant through one-to-one direct messages.
Juanéda says the brand is pleased with the app-growth momentum it has generated since the June 3 Instagram post.
“The appetite from our guests to engage with Circle K digitally is strong, and activations like this one are a key part of how we’re building that relationship,” she says. “The app is where we can offer the most personalized, rewarding experience and campaigns that give app users exclusive access are proving to be a compelling reason to download and stay engaged.”
Circle K is promoting the giveaway primarily through owned channels, with additional out-of-home placements in Edmonton and Toronto’s Sankofa Square. GCI Canada is providing communications support.
“We wanted to move quickly and keep the creative tight, that’s what makes reactive marketing land,” Juanéda says. “[The campaign] is unexpected, and it meets our guests in a moment that already belongs to them.”
The media buy for this campaign was handled by WPP Media.
