Festival Foods - "Santa's Helper"

Retailer Takes a Unique Spin on the Friendliness of Their Associates

Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 8, 2023 – Festival Foods’ associates just can’t help going above and beyond to deliver for guests, as a new campaign from Marcus Thomas artfully conveys. In the agency’s first work since winning the Wisconsin-based retailer’s business last November, the campaign – tagged “Happy to Help” – illustrates that Festival Foods associates are as helpful in their everyday lives as they are in store.

In Jogger, for instance, a Festival Foods associate out for a run takes a 3-mile detour to guide a driver to the post office. This dedication continues in store, as the associate walks a guest right to the item they need. Balloon Rescue features a Festival Foods associate running up a fire escape to retrieve a young girl’s rising balloon. We then see the same associate making another child’s day with a surprise free sample – a common gesture at Festival Foods.

“We did a lot of social listening and pored through guest feedback to understand how people viewed Festival Foods. It was clear to us that their helpful associates are truly a different kind,” said Stephanie Burris, executive creative director at Marcus Thomas. “Not only do they provide exceptional service, but they genuinely enjoy going out of their way to make their guests’ day.”

Knowing an enjoyable experience is a driver of grocery store selection, it was quickly clear that the best way to help Festival Foods communicate their unique and compelling point of difference was to show guest service in a fun and memorable manner.” The spots imagine what these extraordinarily kind and helpful individuals are like outside of the store as in Santa’s Helper, where an associate improvises an elf costume to fill in when she sees Santa needs an assist.

“Marcus Thomas helped us develop our overall brand platform and brought it to life in a highly engaging way,” said Leslie Atkinson, VP of Marketing at Festival Foods. “Kindness and helpfulness always have been at the core of the Festival Foods culture and this campaign captures it perfectly.”

Other executions within the integrated campaign highlight additional helpful details guests can expect from Festival Foods, including a radio spot dedicated to their notable squeak-free shopping carts, and social creative highlighting Festival’s extra-wide aisles.

“In a world full of self-service checkouts and contactless everything, Festival’s guest service and their commitment to their communities truly stand out,” added Burris. “Using a lighthearted approach and going all in on how helpful their associates are to their guests and each other is a lane they can uniquely own.”

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About Festival Foods
Founded in 1946 as Skogen's IGA, Festival Foods is a Wisconsin family- and employee-owned grocer that is committed to giving back to the communities it serves and to providing guests with exceptional service and value. The company, which began operating as Festival Foods in 1990, today employs more than 8,000 full- and part-time associates and operates 41 full-service supermarkets across the state of Wisconsin.

About Marcus Thomas
Marcus Thomas LLC, with 280 professionals in its offices in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Santiago, Chile, is among America’s leading national independent agencies. With a collection of category experts under one roof, Marcus Thomas is a recognized leader in creative, media, public relations, social media, digital, CRM and marketing automation, and analytics. The humble Midwestern agency founded in 1937 is regularly honored for its award-winning campaigns and as a best place to work. Whether Marcus Thomas is working on hyperlocal media strategies or creating spots that run on massive stages like the Super Bowl, its suite of hyper-integrated services continues to be its massive differentiator.