Clif Bar and Company: Marketing to a new country – challenging the American stereotype that Canada is the 51st state

CLIF Bar & Company, a US organic food and drinks company, adapted its communications linguistically, semiotically and visually when marketing to Canada.

Summary

US brands are notorious for treating Canada like the 51st state. CLIF wanted to get below the surface stereotypes, get curious about their Canadian cousin, deeply understand what 'Canadian' means and ultimately develop products and communications more culturally attuned to Canadian consumers.

CLIF, like us, relished the chance to get curious, experiment with new tools, bring different perspectives… and help the budget punch above its weight.

To uncover new consumer thinking we brought together:

  1. New AI powered research tools: for a deeper understanding of emotional responses and real world behaviour;
  2. Fresh and different perspectives:American expats and the...

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