By the second wave of the pandemic, discount grocery retailers were still under attack. Safety continued to trump saving and the iconic Hauler mojo - that feeling you get from beating the system - was lost. We needed to find. a way to combat declining market share, increase brand trust, while maintaining the brand’s swagger, all while in the midst of lockdown with zero ability to shoot live action. So we created the Haulerverse, an integrated, omni-channel campaign that turned average shoppers into heroes in an epic anime universe.

Featured in trade publications as well as the Huffington Post, Hypebeast and the Toronto Star, Haulerverse surpassed objectives including a significant increase in sales and brand trust. Oh yeah. Almost forgot. A ton of people from all around the world wide web lost their minds on all the socials. Yup, all of them. Just watch the case video.

A short film was complimented by a social and influencer push, plus a graphic novel found only in the pages of No Frills’ digital flyer. Over 10-weeks readers followed along as our Haulers took on their biggest enemy yet - a Frillnado. Haulerverse: Rise of the Frills Vol 1 increased readership by 25% and drove up time spent within its pages by 11%.