Swedish supermarket chain Coop wanted to take their support for organic farming to the next level. So they decided to communicate something that no other food company had dared talk about:
The fact that if you eat conventional food, you have a number of different pesticides in your body – and that if you switch to organic food, the pesticides disappear within days. They set up a test with an ordinary family, and documented it in a short film that was posted on YouTube and Facebook.
The entire campaign was PR driven. From the casting of the family to their appearance as guests on Sweden’s biggest TV morning show. From the activation of a global grassroots movement to the response when, as expected, some in the food industry attacked the campaign.
The film has been viewed more than 35 million times (and counting) all over the world, generating news coverage, blog articles and social media posts with a total reach of 1.8 billion. In Sweden, the campaign helped reignite the Coop brand, contributing to Coop's best financial result in 23 years.
The Brief
Coop figured that the best way to re-establish leadership on organic food – and reignite their brand – was to try to make a real difference for organic farming. Globally. This is an international issue, and much of what Swedes eat is imported.
So the campaign had several objectives: To give organic farming a push, in Sweden and globally. To remind Swedish consumers of Coop's leadership on organic food. To increase sales of organic food. And to strengthen the Coop brand.
Execution
With the help of IVL, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Coop conducted an experiment with an ordinary family, the Palmbergs.
The experiment was documented in a scientific report and a more sharable 90 second film.
The report from IVL was important for credibility in contacts with news media, and contributed to the extensive coverage, beginning with the family appearing as guests on Sweden's biggest morning TV show.
But the 90 second film was of course the centerpiece of the campaign. And a massive international grass roots movement, pinpointing individuals and organizations with a passion for organic food, helped it go viral.
In Sweden, as expected, the campaign made many in the food industry angry. But the criticism gave Coop an opportunity to take a public stand for consumers' right to know what they're eating.
The film has been viewed more than 35 million times (and counting) in 229 countries, generating news coverage, blog articles and social media posts with a total reach of 1.8 billion.
88 % of social media mentions have been favourable.
A survey showed that 57 % of those who had seen the film said that it had made them want to buy more organic food.
Sales of organic food increased almost 50 % over the period during which the film launched.
And the campaign helped reignite Coop's brand, contributing to the company's best financial result in 23 years.
The Strategy
The key insight was that most people aren't willing to pay more for a product because it's better for the environment. (Although many of them are willing to pay more for a product they think is healthier.) And surveys showed that organic food was still associated more with "good for the environment" than with "good for me".
So Coop decided to communicate something that no other food company had dared talk about: The fact that if you eat conventional food, you have a number of different pesticides in your body – and that if you switch to organic food, the pesticides disappear within days.
This is important information, especially for Coop's target audience, families with kids, considering more and more research indicates health risks for growing children.
Communicating this would surely make many in the food industry angry, but Coop realized that criticism from the industry could present a PR opportunity.