Food Network Canada and Walmart Canada are teaming up to help busy parents create easy, delicious, and healthy options for their kids with a robust multi-platform campaign. Coinciding with the re-brand of Walmart’s fresh foods section, the partnership includes sponsorship of the resourceful Cooking for Kids Guide onFoodNetwork.ca, which features inspiring meal ideas and tips for Canadian families, Walmart custom content, and product integration.The campaign also encompasses integration into the new original series The Incredible Food Race as well as sponsorship of the show.
Hosted by Rick Campanelli (Entertainment Tonight Canada), each episode of The Incredible Food Race features two families battling it out in a super-charged race full of fun food challenges and a main event: the family versus family cook-off of a kid-approved meal. As the official show sponsor, Walmart is integrated into every episode and provides each winning family free Walmart fresh groceries for a year. Campanelli is joined by Food Network Canada Chef Corbin Tomaszeski (Restaurant Takeover, Dinner Party Wars) as chef mentor and commentator during the main event. Over the summer, Walmart and Chef Corbin will also host eight tailgate events at sites across Canada featuring a barbecue, cooking demonstrations with local Walmart Mom Ambassadors and Chef Corbin, with a ninth tailgate event created for the series.
An additional piece of the partnership includes four broadcast spots featuring Chef Corbin inviting Canadians to Discover Another Side of Walmart and promoting the Cooking for Kids conversation online using #KidApprovedMeals. The spots will run on Food Network Canada as well as various Shaw Media broadcast properties including Global, HGTV Canada, Showcase and Slice. The vignettes include Chef Corbin offering advice on cooking meals for kids, introducing fresh produce and meat from Walmart fresh groceries into kid favourites, and tours of Walmart’s distribution centres. Extended vignettes will live online on the Walmart sponsored Cooking for Kids Guide on FoodNetwork.ca, in addition to Walmart sites and Walmart Mom Ambassador blogs.
“There is an appetite for quick, delicious and healthy meal options for families, and the partnership between Food Network Canada and Walmart Canada provides both the resources and the inspiration to make this easier for parents,” said Barb McKergow, Head of Marketing Ventures, Shaw Media.
”At Walmart, our mission is to help Canadians save money so they can live better,” said Jennifer Holgate, Vice President, Marketing Communications at Walmart Canada. “This is why we are excited to be partnering with Food Network Canada to showcase our enhanced fresh food offering and inspire Canadian families to create delicious, healthy and affordable kid-approved meal solutions.”
Beginning today, and running until December 16, Walmart is sponsoring Walmart Wednesday’s on Food Network Canada during primetime, with co-branded promos to run throughout the schedule.
