Strong allies speak for canola
We love it when @vancouverfoodie Emma Choo talks about canola oil on Instagram. When you want to amplify a message, it helps to have allies.
For year two of the Hello Canola campaign, the National Canola Marketing Program again teams up with four strong social media voices. These brilliant communicators have dedicated followings and can engage with their audiences on topics that really matter for canola.
In addition to Emma Choo, the program has Abbey Sharp (@abbeyskitchen) educating Canadians on the health benefits of canola and debunking nutrition myths. And beauty influencer Abeena Meera (@abeena.meera) can speak to canola’s uses in beauty products and benefits in skincare and haircare. The program will also have a new farmer influencer for 2025, providing a perspective on the Canadians responsible for growing this wonder crop.
According to the annual Edelman trust barometer, 63 per cent of people trust influencers more than what brands themselves have to say. The Hello Canola core audience – millennial women – rely heavily on social media influencers and online experts for product discovery and recommendations. They aren’t as inclined to rely on brand accounts for this type of information.
“We weren’t surprised after year one of the Hello Canola campaign that the reach of our influencer content exceeded our initial campaign benchmarks,” says Lynn Weaver, market development manager with SaskOilseeds. Social media influencer partners were a key awareness driver, aiding in a 13 per cent increase in overall awareness of canola and 25 per cent increase in positive opinion of canola, based on results from the 2024 Leger survey of Canadians.
“It was clear we needed to keep external voices on board in year two to support us in telling the canola story,” Weaver says.
The Hello Canola campaign will also partner with key publications across Canada. “Our core customers trust national consumer publications,” Weaver says. “To be strategic in our partnerships, we want to go where our customers are already actively engaging on a daily basis.”
This includes The Kit, an online publication that reaches Canadian millennial women interested in all things lifestyle and beauty. “We want to introduce The Kit readers to canola, and also show them how canola is already part of their daily lives,” Weaver says.
Please follow our expert allies on Instagram, and tell your non-farming family and friends about them. You can also follow @HelloCanola on Pinterest and @Hello_Canola on Facebook and Instagram.
The National Canola Marketing Program (NCMP), which includes the Hello Canola campaign, is a partnership of SaskOilseeds, Alberta Canola and Manitoba Canola Growers.