De-bunking myths and educating audiences

Canadians love authenticity. So, to talk about the impact and importance of canola, Hello Canola looked to others – a farmer, a registered dietitian, a lifestyle leader and a chef – to help tell the canola story.

The Hello Canola campaign has partnered with four strong voices across different spaces and backgrounds to create authentic opportunities to engage and educate Canadians across the country without a farming background.

The campaign, which began with a soft launch in August 2023, aims to bring people across the country closer to canola, instilling pride and increasing knowledge and appreciation for the Canadian crop. It shares all that canola provides, from products we use every day, to its environmental impact and its contribution to the Canadian economy.

“For the first year of this campaign, we wanted to ensure we partnered with influential Canadians who could help us tell the full story of canola and bring together some of the most important aspects and uses through their content,” says Jennifer Dyck, market development director with Manitoba Canola Growers.

Through these influencer partners, the campaign has the ability to reach more Canadians with canola stories and content by not only reaching the creators’ own followers, but by amplifying their content to reach a broader group of Canadians interested in the subject matter.

The partners are Emma Choo, Devan Rajkumar, Abbey Sharp and Darryl Wiebe. (See their profiles and images from some of their recent Hello Canola content.) Feel free to follow them on social media to see future campaign content and share or comment to strengthen their reach.

Abbey Sharp is a registered dietician and a long-time supporter of canola. Abbey is a knowledgeable and credible resource for those wanting to learn more about the benefits of canola, and can help us demystify some of the misconceptions around canola and its health and nutrition qualities. @abbeyskitchen

Darryl Wiebe is a farmer from MacGregor, Manitoba. Farmers are such a critical part of the canola story, and many Canadians may not have as much opportunity to learn about their work and the role they play in our economy and bringing important food products to Canadian shelves. By working with Darryl to tell his story, we are able to amplify it to broader audiences to help bring awareness to more Canadians and educate on the important role of canola. @Beavercreekfarmsltd

Emma Choo is a lifestyle influencer and self-proclaimed “foodie.” Emma is the perfect bridge to showcase the full story of canola, from its use in cooking, to personal and pet care products and more. We were also very pleased to welcome Emma to Grow Canada with the Hello Canola team this year to learn more about canola and engage further in the agricultural community. @vancouverfoodie

Devan Rajkumar, professional chef, is already very familiar with using canola oil in recipes and its benefits and versatility in the kitchen. Leveraging him as an expert in the cooking space will help us amplify cooking use-cases with Canadian audiences and inspire them to make canola their go-to cooking oil. @chevdevan

The provincial canola associations – Alberta Canola, SaskCanola and Manitoba Canola Growers – fund the new campaign through their joint National Canola Marketing Program. Team leaders are Lynn Weaver, market development manager with SaskCanola, Louise Labonte, public engagement and promotions coordinator with Alberta Canola, and Jennifer Dyck. The grower organizations hired FleishmanHillard HighRoad, a strategic communications and public relations agency, to develop the strategy and bring Hello Canola to life.

The central hub for information for this campaign is the new website at hellocanola.ca. The consumer-targeted site has resources and information on the benefits of canola, canola in our daily lives, and recipes, along with a learning centre for anyone curious about canola. Also look for and engage with @hellocanola on Twitter (X), YouTube and Facebook, and @hello_canola on Instagram.