Asking Canadians to say hello to canola

The farmer-led campaign is designed to showcase the Canadian product

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

A new marketing campaign is helping Canadians learn about canola.

Three Prairie canola organizations spearheaded the Hello Canola campaign to bring the public closer to the crop and to help instill a sense of pride in it.

“Our farmers wanted to bring resources together to bring a unified message and look to Canadians,” Jennifer Dyck, co-lead of the National Canola Marketing Program, told Farms.com. “They wanted us to meet Canadians where they’re at and bring them what they need to help them fall in love with canola the same way farmers did.”

Campaign materials are available online and through multiple social media platforms.

It will include messaging about sustainability and how canola’s use as biofuel can support the economy, climate change and communities.

Creating the campaign included connecting with stakeholders and general consumers to find out how much Canadians know about canola.

The research found that canola oil is the predominant oil choice in Western Canada but not in Ontario eastward, Dyck said.

And the research discovered Canadians were unaware that canola is found in multiple everyday products like pet food and is used to make tires softer and more flexible.

That’s why this campaign is so important, Dyck said.

“We want Canadians to recognize that this is our product and is a made in Canada success story,” she said. The name canola comes from “can” as in Canada, and “ola” as in oil, and we want them to embrace that.”