MONTREAL — When the IGA supermarket chain saw website traffic spike due to the explosion of online grocery shopping at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it turned to Quebecor’s Hublo branded-content solution to help it communicate quickly and effectively with Quebec families, the company said in a release today.
Not wanting to add to the burden on its website, IGA used Hublo’s sponsored content showcase to continue offering peripheral content and food advice to its customers. Eight IGA-branded features were produced for the campaign and displayed over a one-month period during the first Covid-19 lockdown. (Here’s an example of the IGA campaign on Hublo, and another, and one more, as they appeared on Quebecor’s Le Journal de Montréal website.)
According to the Quebecor press release issued today, the eight IGA features generated 145,000 page views and an average social media engagement rate of 4.08%. The article on Covid-19 safety tips for grocery shopping (the first example above) registered 68,000 page views and a social media engagement rate of 8.4%, says the release.
“The results, particularly in terms of qualified reach and engagement, definitely exceeded our expectations. The lockdown disrupted Quebecers’ habits and we wanted to be there for families in the new environment. Our online shopping service was always available to help them meet their needs, but we also wanted to be present with relevant content that would provide information and comfort,” said Carl Pichette, vice-president of marketing at Sobeys, which owns the IGA chain, in the Quebecor release.
Quebecor says since Hublo’s launch in March 2020, the platform for promotional content has logged more than 1.2 million page views. The company says Hublo is supported by strong organic search engine optimization and strong reach across Quebecor’s digital and social ecosystem.
“The marketing strategy that IGA deployed in collaboration with the content experts at Colab Studio is a perfect example of Hublo’s effectiveness and power,” says Patrick Jutras, senior vice-president and chief advertising officer of Quebecor and TVA Group, in the press release. “The speed and agility with which we were able to support them, the campaign’s constant presence over time, its clear, well-defined objective, and the remarkable reach of our ecosystem were all ingredients in this shining success story.”
Colab Studio is Quebecor’s collaborative marketing agency.
For more information about Hublo, please click here.
