• by Larissa Faw , May 5, 2017

Enjoy Life Foods (ELF) is launching a campaign to introduce a new brand positioning to expand the potential audience of its product line. The new pivot underscores that ELF’s food products are  "free from" the eight most common food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soy. 

Developed with AOR Tom, Dick & Harry (TDH) and media shop Carat USA, the creative depicts people in candid moments of snacking freedom with the message they can enjoy things they thought were off-limits. The tagline tells buyers: "Enjoy Life Gives Permission to Eat Freely."

“What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word permission?" asks Bob Volkman, creative partner, TDH. "Permission slips. The red Enjoy Life badge is like a universal snacking permission slip. Hey, there’s an idea there.”

The campaign runs in a diverse range of U.S. and Canadian consumer and trade print publications, including Yoga Journal, Rachael Ray Every Day, Eating Well, Clean Eating, Taste for Life and Gluten-Free Living. Each buy includes digital extensions. Gluten Free Living, for instance, will feature custom blog posts with ELF product/recipes on its site, as well as a weekly e-blast.

The initiative is also leveraging programmatic to activate against multiple publishers, including Country Living, Delish, Good Housekeeping, HGTV.com, DIYNetworks.com, Eater, Curbed, Bon Appetit and Epicurious in the contextually relevant health or epicurean section, says TDH's Greg Reifel. 

Blogger partnerships with select foodie influencers will reach an audience of 4.8 million. The campaign will also be supported through ELF’s own primary social channel: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

This is TDH's first project for ELF since the Chicago-based agency won the account last August in a review that included mcgarrybowen. ELF's previous work from Blue Chip Marketing targeted only those who had food allergies or had children with food allergies. The advertising used testimonials that featured ELF consumers thanking Enjoy Life for their allergen-free snacks.

In order to expand this positioning, TDH first partnered with The Halverson Group to co-create a methodology for the screening and calibrating of potential consumers. Their research uncovered two primary targets, including “Worriers,” who believe they have no choice but to eat so-called “free-from” snacks, due to food allergies, and intolerances.  

The other target is comprised of so-called “Wonderers,” who do not have food ingredient allergies, but wonder which snacks are safest and healthiest.

"For years, we’ve led the free-from category, providing trusted options to Worriers who depend on our foods the most,” said Joel Warady, chief sales and marketing officer, ELF. “Through our comprehensive campaign with TDH, we’re excited to continue to foster our important relationship while showing everyone, including Wonderers, that Enjoy Life creates safe and delicious snack options made with every dieter in mind.”

ELF increased its marketing spend by 300% in 2016 to jump-start its brand awareness and strengthen the expansion across the U.S. and Canada. The product line includes cookies, snack bars, chocolate bars, baking chocolate, baking mixes, seed and fruit mixes and lentil-based chips, called Plentils, all available in natural and conventional grocers and mass retailers.