2024 Winner
GoldBest in Emerging Technology
GoldBest in Websites and Microsites
GoldBest Data Insight
SilverBest in Data
SilverBest Disruption
SkipTheDishes
"Inflation Cookbook"
Dentsu Creative
"Inflation Cookbook"
Dentsu Creative
Inflation – particularly in grocery items – has left Canadian families in a precarious position. With prices fluctuating constantly and little understanding of what drives the volatility, it has become near impossible to manage food expenses while maintaining a healthy, nutritious diet. In turn, many families are being forced to choose unhealthy, lower-cost foods. And in 2022, over 8 million Canadians skipped meals, forced to choose between essentials like food, rent, medication, and clothes. Foodbank usage also skyrocketed, increasing 425%.
Canada's grocery landscape is dominated by only four major players, which has resulted in a highly concentrated market with limited competition. These big retailers hold significant sway over pricing, making it challenging for consumers to find substantial savings.
With that in mind, Food Banks of Canada and Skip Express Lane wanted to empower Canadians to make informed choices helping them adapt to real-time price fluctuations, save on groceries, and cultivate wholesome dietary habits.
The initiative aimed to position SkipExpressLane as an innovative alternative to traditional grocery options, while providing a personalized, budget-conscious, and reliable tool for families.
“Inflation Cookbook” is a retail media platform that leverages real-time data to inspire action. It addresses the complex challenge of price volatility in the industry, influenced by unpredictable factors such as supply chain disruptions, weather events, or even religious holidays (lamb prices explode at Easter and Eid). By harnessing real-time data insights, the platform tracks weekly price fluctuations of more than 400 key ingredients across major retailers and 80+ locations nationwide.
“Inflation Cookbook” launched as an intuitive mobile interface, allowing Canadians to personalize their experience based on location, household size, and budget. The key innovation lies in its algorithm, which monitored real-time price changes across more than 400 ingredients in over 80 stores, providing the smartest cart, which users could order directly (and receive delivery in 25 minutes) using SkipExpressLane. The items were then turned into instant recipe recommendations leveraging the power of AI and the expertise of a chef and nutritionist.
The campaign launched in 2023 through a partnership with Canada’s largest newspaper, giving it unprecedented scale and embedding it into the space where inflation was the most covered topic. It was also supported with a digital, social, SEO, and PR effort.
The core idea lies in its ability to transform real-time data on price volatility into actionable, budget-conscious options for consumers. Providing this invaluable information to Canadian families while grocery shopping allows them to make informed decisions that lead to significant savings and healthier meal choices. This inventive approach disrupts the grocery industry pricing strategies and creates a lasting impact on the lives of Canadian families, amidst historical inflationary conditions.
The data gathering is done through their unique algorithm which collects real-time pricing information for over 400 key ingredients from major retailers and locations across the country. This process ensures comprehensive coverage of the diverse grocery pricing landscape across Canada’s different regions. In terms of media planning, it was crucial to give the platform scale and reactivity, bringing the real-time price variations to consumers as they happened, in order for to benefit.
Targeting was done geographically, accounting for cultural, income, and weather variables across the Canadian provinces.
To maximize the shopper’s window to react to the volatility of pricing, a mobile-first web experience was created. The accessibility and convenience of portable devices allow “Inflation Cookbook” to impact consumer choices inside the grocery store itself.
“Inflation Cookbook‘s” impact on Canadians’ grocery bills is undeniable, allowing a family of four to save, on average, 20.3% on their weekly cart. This reduction in grocery expenses demonstrates “Inflation Cookbook's” effectiveness in empowering consumers to make informed, budget-conscious, healthy decisions. From April to December 2023, it is estimated to have generated over $21.8M in total savings for Canadian families.
During the campaign period, “Inflation Cookbook” directly referred 21 380 new users (accounts created) to SkipExpressLane, adding up to more than $4.3M in customer lifetime value and revenue for the business.
“Inflation Cookbook” gained significant attention as soon as it was launched, with over 400 million media impressions and more than 355 articles published within the first week alone, which allowed it to capture a sizeable following (28,600 weekly users), a testament to its widespread resonance.
Canada's grocery landscape is dominated by only four major players, which has resulted in a highly concentrated market with limited competition. These big retailers hold significant sway over pricing, making it challenging for consumers to find substantial savings.
With that in mind, Food Banks of Canada and Skip Express Lane wanted to empower Canadians to make informed choices helping them adapt to real-time price fluctuations, save on groceries, and cultivate wholesome dietary habits.
The initiative aimed to position SkipExpressLane as an innovative alternative to traditional grocery options, while providing a personalized, budget-conscious, and reliable tool for families.
“Inflation Cookbook” is a retail media platform that leverages real-time data to inspire action. It addresses the complex challenge of price volatility in the industry, influenced by unpredictable factors such as supply chain disruptions, weather events, or even religious holidays (lamb prices explode at Easter and Eid). By harnessing real-time data insights, the platform tracks weekly price fluctuations of more than 400 key ingredients across major retailers and 80+ locations nationwide.
“Inflation Cookbook” launched as an intuitive mobile interface, allowing Canadians to personalize their experience based on location, household size, and budget. The key innovation lies in its algorithm, which monitored real-time price changes across more than 400 ingredients in over 80 stores, providing the smartest cart, which users could order directly (and receive delivery in 25 minutes) using SkipExpressLane. The items were then turned into instant recipe recommendations leveraging the power of AI and the expertise of a chef and nutritionist.
The campaign launched in 2023 through a partnership with Canada’s largest newspaper, giving it unprecedented scale and embedding it into the space where inflation was the most covered topic. It was also supported with a digital, social, SEO, and PR effort.
The core idea lies in its ability to transform real-time data on price volatility into actionable, budget-conscious options for consumers. Providing this invaluable information to Canadian families while grocery shopping allows them to make informed decisions that lead to significant savings and healthier meal choices. This inventive approach disrupts the grocery industry pricing strategies and creates a lasting impact on the lives of Canadian families, amidst historical inflationary conditions.
The data gathering is done through their unique algorithm which collects real-time pricing information for over 400 key ingredients from major retailers and locations across the country. This process ensures comprehensive coverage of the diverse grocery pricing landscape across Canada’s different regions. In terms of media planning, it was crucial to give the platform scale and reactivity, bringing the real-time price variations to consumers as they happened, in order for to benefit.
Targeting was done geographically, accounting for cultural, income, and weather variables across the Canadian provinces.
To maximize the shopper’s window to react to the volatility of pricing, a mobile-first web experience was created. The accessibility and convenience of portable devices allow “Inflation Cookbook” to impact consumer choices inside the grocery store itself.
“Inflation Cookbook‘s” impact on Canadians’ grocery bills is undeniable, allowing a family of four to save, on average, 20.3% on their weekly cart. This reduction in grocery expenses demonstrates “Inflation Cookbook's” effectiveness in empowering consumers to make informed, budget-conscious, healthy decisions. From April to December 2023, it is estimated to have generated over $21.8M in total savings for Canadian families.
During the campaign period, “Inflation Cookbook” directly referred 21 380 new users (accounts created) to SkipExpressLane, adding up to more than $4.3M in customer lifetime value and revenue for the business.
“Inflation Cookbook” gained significant attention as soon as it was launched, with over 400 million media impressions and more than 355 articles published within the first week alone, which allowed it to capture a sizeable following (28,600 weekly users), a testament to its widespread resonance.
Credits
SkipTheDishesVP, Communications: Melanie Fatouros Richardson
Senior Communications Manager: Kristen McGuey
AGENCY
Global Chief Creative Officer, dentsu: Fred Levron
Chief Executive Officer, Canada: Stephen Kiely
Chief Creative Officer: Jordan Doucette
Chief Strategy Officer: Rafik Belmesk
Managing Director: Dimitra Georgakis
VP, Strategy: Kevin McHugh
ECD: Ryan Paterson, Maxime Saute
ACD: Nathan Styles, Megan Kras
Copywriter: Ryan Paterson, Megan Kras
Art Director: Maxime Saute, Nathan Styles, Logan Cipparone, Jason Yurichuk, Kaycee Diaz, Louise Delfin, Burak Ozcan
Global Executive Creative Producer: John Bleeden
SVP Studio & Operations: Kristie Filipp
Producers: Jordan Kentris, Kateryna Hrycak, Josh Malone
PM: Sarah Ng, Stephanie Chu
Head of Technology: Walter Flaat, Michael Balders
UX/UI Leads: Kateryna Hrycak, Joe Brown
UX Designer: Susan Luc
Proofreaders: Tessa Wolvekamp, Chloe Nadeau, Mourad Bouaziz
SVP, Communications - Kate Dobrucki
Post Production Supervisor - Nathan Dharamshi
Operations Director, DWS Brazil: Thiago Winkler
Project Director, DWS Brazil: Aline Bof
Project Manager, DWS Brazil: Andreia Mello
Interactive Architect, DWS Brazil: Victoria Aiello
Associate Creative Director, DWS Brazil: Alisson Laschuk
UI Designer, DWS Brazil: Bruna Cardoso Slaviero
Mobile Developer, DWS Brazil: Mariana Andrade
Front End Developer, DWS Brazil: Victoria Duarte
Sr Front End Developer, DWS Brazil: Michael Aliendro
Sr Back End Developer, DWS Brazil: Juares Sipert
Lead Front End Developer, DWS Brazil: Daiane Oliveira
Lead Back End Developer, DWS Brazil: Felipe Sacramento
Product Owner, DWS Brazil: Isabella Bof
Product Manager, DWS Brazil: Ketlin Marques
Tester (QA), DWS Brazil: Rodrigo Lehnen
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Pomp & Circumstance PR, Cheyenne Freitas, Amanda Alvaro, Lindsay Mattick, Erika Ceddia, Derek Bathurst, Aleah Balas, Allie Martin, Alexandra Wassell,
EGS: Effie Giannou, Jennifer Akhen