NotCo

The Winning Brand Platform That Launched One Delicious Product After Another

NotMilk OOH ad that says "Milk meet you match"
Retail
Consumer Motivation
Content Strategy
Online & Offline Activation
Print Tech
OOH
Social Media

After finding success in Brazil, Argentina, and the U.S., NotCo wanted to tackle the Canadian market. So, we helped their team create their first multilingual campaign, setting the foundation to launch one innovative product after another in Canada’s hyper-competitive plant-based food and beverage category.

Leading insight

Canadian consumers want to make choices that are better for the planet, but they’d rather NOT compromise on taste.

Reframed challenge

Regionalize NotCo’s creative brand platform to foster recognition and community across both Canada’s English and French-speaking markets, and support the launch of new NotCo products, starting with NotMilk.

Opportunity unlocked

By doing justice to NotCo’s mind-blowing mouth appeal and creating a sense of familiarity aligned with Canadian values, we regionalized NotCo’s creative brand platform. After just the first product launch, ⅔ of Canadians said they’d sipped, slurped, or cooked with NotMilk.

OOH NotMilk ad that says "Vous n'y verrez que du lait"
French NotMilk ad that says "Ceci n'est pas une pub de lait"
OOH NotMilk execution on the side of the highway

Why NOT create a better future

Founded on the idea that AI could help replicate the foods we love, but made from plants to lessen their environmental footprint, NotCo, a Chilean-based company, was expanding into new markets. Looking to target Canada’s largest cities for their NotMilk launch, NotCo was ready to make its first foray into a bilingual market.

Various NotMilk ad creative
Digital ad for NotMilk that says "The first plant-based milk that actually tastes like milk"
A digital ad for NotBurger that says "You could compromise on taste. Or, you could NOT."
A NotBurger billboard in front of the CN Tower

NOT your average plant-based alternative

NotCo wanted to be known as the plant-based alternative for foods that taste just like the animal-based version, not just another bland-tasting one. So we created an ecosystem and community that could help Canadians tune in to their tastiest desires and invite them to discover a host of unbelievably delicious NotCo products.

To do this, we amped up NotCo’s main differentiators for our Canadian audience: their products’ taste appeal and the power of NOT consuming animal-based foods. In other words, we showed that making better choices for the planet could taste f***ing delicious.

But our timelines were tight. So to make sure we’d get OOH print assets in market as quickly and cost-efficiently as possible, we worked closely with our print management team to source the right materials and negotiate pricing with suppliers.

NotBurger train wrap
NotMilk streetcar wrap

Building a platform, NOT just a campaign

NotMilk launched with ads featuring familiar foods, bold striking visuals, and NotCo’s signature unexpected logic, reaching well over half of Canadians. In fact, according to our survey, 2 out of 3 Canadians declared they’d tried NotMilk and a whopping 89% of them went on to purchase it.

By playing up taste and texture, we helped NotMilk make waves in the Canadian market. We followed up that success with NotBurger’s summertime launch, and most recently that of NotChicken.

From OOH to social media, and beyond, we’ve given NotCo a taste of success the Canadian way – starting compelling conversations, creating a buzz, and building brand equity for NotCo – all thanks to a brand platform focused on mind-blowing taste. The best part? With all kinds of innovations coming from NotCo, it feels like we’re just getting started.

NotBurger bus shelter ad
NotChicken Dundas Square ad saying "Don't call me chicken"
French NotBurger metro hallway takeover