Case Study

High Liner's rebrand makes some major waves

The Ask

REFRESH A CANADIAN ICON___

High Liner has always believed that seafood is better, but their brand positioning and visual identity no longer reflected their modern product line and intense passion for seafood. Everything was on the dinner table for consideration, including the brand’s most famous marketing asset, Captain High Liner. Heading into the company’s 120th anniversary, we were thrilled to spearhead a major brand refresh for High Liner, and find out if an old Captain could still learn some new tricks.

The Insights

CELEBRATE SEAFOOD___

We positioned High Liner to champion and celebrate the incredible taste, versatility and role of seafood on Canadian plates. Along with a full suite of vibrant new packaging, we introduced Canadians to High Liner’s new Seafood is Better tagline with a fully-integrated marketing launch. And we gave Captain High Liner a head-turning update that better reflects the brand’s young-at-heart personality. #HelloCaptain, indeed.

The Insights

MAKING WAVES___

News of the brand refresh, and most notably the Captain’s makeover, took Canada by storm. His new look garnered the attention of CBC, Breakfast Television, HuffPost, and other news outlets, as well as several radio stations across Canada. He also caught a ton of buzz on social media, revealing our country’s enthusiastic investment in him. There were even some cheeky comments thrown into the mix – we can report that the Captain is totally flattered.

The Buzz

  • Strategy
  • Branding
  • Packaging
  • Digital
  • Social
  • Shopper
  • Marketing
  • PR
  • Advertising

We knew we wanted to build it up.
So before the new Captain dropped,
we launched an integrated teaser campaign.

THE REVEAL___

We strategically chose to keep almost everything the same but still create a massive transformation. We knew the impact would be awesome. The brand was iconic. But it was dated and dragging the brand down. To get people to take notice, it had to be remarkable. Yet. at the same time, it had to be incredibly smart and considered.
 
 

The conversation on social media reached over 3M Canuks. Thousands commented on his sexy new look, establishing an engaged online community for High Liner.

A WINNING IDENTITY ON SHELF___

The competition had been copying High Liner's packaging, creating a sea of blue on shelf. So as part of the new identity, we redesigned the entire portfolio with vibrant colours and tasty, dynamic photography to ensure it dominates the frozen seafood aisle.

Dynamic food photography loaded with taste appeal brought tons of energy to our packaging, and guaranteed we stood out from the competition on shelf.

SMALL BUDGET, BIG IMPACT___

We had a very small budget. Yet, with a smart strategy and astute thinking we affected every part of the brand across every channel. And the results were astonishing. Even Bay Street investors took note. We added incredible corporate stock value to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Cha-ching!

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