category finalist
The Background:
90% of people think grocery prices suck.
After years of rising costs, grocery shopping became a universal pain point—and Stop & Shop was right in the middle of the conversation. Complaints about price, value, and the in-store experience showed up everywhere: social, news, everyday conversation. Ignoring it wasn’t an option. We had to reshape how people felt about the brand.
The Challenge
Convince our audience that grocery shopping doesn’t have to suck by acknowledging frustrations, helping them save, and improving the in-store experience.
The Strategy
Stop & Shop had already started making changes—our job was to reintroduce them in a way that felt human and believable. So we leaned into honesty, acknowledging frustrations, celebrating progress, and doing it all with a little humor.
The Creative
Meet Justin, the overly enthusiastic Stop & Shop employee who always goes the extra mile—sometimes in the wrong direction. Through a mix of campaign messaging and improv-driven spots, Justin gave frustrated shoppers someone to root for and put a smiling face on the brand’s ongoing improvements.
The Social
We built the social strategy around listening first. Instead of talking at shoppers, we spent time “living the comments,” using real frustrations and behaviors to shape the content.
From viral recipes and meal trends to everyday family moments, we created content that felt familiar—and worth engaging with. By winning hearts online, we enticed shoppers to give us another shot.
The Results
37% Lift in consideration
38% Lift in brand preference
36% Lift in favorability
43% Lift in “A Brand I Can Trust
(Source: DISQO brand lift study)
Negative social sentiment down 6%. Positive sentiment up 10%.
Nearly 2x paid social ROI thanks to our new content and media strategy.
How do you know your social is working? When the competition suddenly finds a personality.
Since relaunching in 2025, regional players like ShopRite, Shaw’s, and Star Market have begun experimenting with TikTok, trends, and more relatable content.
New followers YoY: +252%
Reach: +772%
Followers: +5k
Reach: +1983%
Shares: +593%
TikTok
Follwers: +12k
Reach +2471%
Shares: +19746%
