Smart & Final Launches Marketing Campaign
Smart & Final is teaming up with celebrity chef Roy Choi as part of the retailer’s rebranding campaign that will highlight the company’s new tagline “Where Else?”
The retailer’s first television campaign in seven years is currently airing across California, Nevada, and Arizona with six initial spots. Additional advertising will also appear in print, in-store, out-of-home, and digital media throughout the year.
The new campaign features the Smart & Final story through the eyes of Super Associate Alex and three signature customer personas – Supermom Selena, office manager Brenda, and celebrity chef Roy Choi – to showcase the brand’s vast product assortment, unique items, club sizes, farm fresh produce and longtime partnerships with businesses of all types.
In the ads, Choi tells the retailer’s story from the perspective of a well-known restaurant chef/owner and frequent Smart & Final shopper. A Korean-American raised in Los Angeles, Choi pioneered the modern food truck movement through his Kogi BBQ truck. In 2020, Smart & Final became the first retailer to carry the chef’s line of Kogi brand sauces.
“I’ve been a Smart & Final customer since day one, and this campaign really feels like destiny fulfilled,” said Choi. “Good food should be available to everyone no matter where they live, and Smart & Final is an affordable, convenient grocery store for people feeding their families as well as restaurant owners like me.”
“This campaign is all about reintroducing Smart & Final to our loyal customers while inviting new ones to visit our stores and experience why Smart & Final has been in business for over 150 years,” said Matt Reeve, senior vice president of Marketing, Merchandising and Private Brands for Smart & Final. “We’re focused on presenting our vision for Smart & Final as a grocery destination for everyday moms, small businesses, and celebrities like Roy, who all appreciate Smart & Final’s affordable, quality selection of produce, meats, and grocery essentials.”
The new advertising campaign follows Smart & Final’s efforts to highlight its assortment of private label products. As previously reported by Store Brands, the retailer redesigned product packaging for its store brands, the first such effort in several years.
Todd Fryer, director of Private Label for Smart & Final, said the retailer wanted its products to have a strong on-shelf presence and communicate the quality and value offered to shoppers.
“Some of our packaging in the past looked too plain or blended into the shelf,” he said. “We wanted to stand out and demonstrate our pride in the First Street brand.”
