Understanding union advertising and public relations campaigns – Part 4
In the final installment of our series on understanding union advertising and public relations campaigns, we will look at the most recent television ad your union ran and what the future might hold on this topic.
As you saw in Part 3 of our series, running ads and public relations campaigns is not without its risks when it comes to reactions from employers. Our overview of previous ads demonstrates how that risk exists despite public declarations that many corporations make about enabling employees to “speak freely.”
Earlier this year, your union launched a television ad aimed at bringing the story of that risk to the public’s attention, as well as threats Sobeys was leveling against its workers around wage rollbacks that it has now implemented.
Click the image above to watch our television ad.
As you can see above, the ad portrays an unidentifiable individual who is giving voice to concerns, issues, and experiences that have been thoroughly documented through numerous polls that your union has conducted with our members.
While pointed in its content, the ad is based on truth and fair comment about the struggles faced by retail grocery workers, and indeed all workers, during the affordability crisis.
It is not only our members who are frustrated by the actions of giant corporations like Empire (who own Safeway, Sobeys, and FreshCo, among other grocery stores) and Loblaws. Customers have voiced their frustrations in no uncertain terms.
Your union’s most recent advertising campaign has directed people to a Fair Checkout landing page, which further articulates the messaging of our campaign. The page also asks concerned customers to fill out a very short form to indicate their support for retail grocery workers.
Nearly ten thousand customers have expressed their support with comments echoing workers’ challenges, frustrations, and concerns. The level of unity that these ads have generated between workers and the public is, frankly, unprecedented and presents an incredible tool for Local 401 members in pushing employers to do the right thing.
Further, bringing our members’ stories to the public has also generated additional media attention, which is often referred to as “earned media” as opposed to “paid media” like the ads we have run. That attention has included comments from labour relations professionals who have described Sobeys’ actions as “beyond the pale” and “reprehensible.”
We have already seen a shift in Sobeys’ approach to this situation, given the negative media attention that your union’s ads have generated. That shift has been mirrored by other employers, both in the past when we have used similar strategies and right now as other employers watch what happens with our current campaign.
While advertising and public relations campaigns are not without cost, the impact we have seen represents an incredible investment for our members, especially when compared to how much more a strike would cost (as much as ten times more per week, depending on the size of the strike).
Moving forward, your union will continue the discussion with our members about how to use advertising and public relations campaigns as cost-effective and impactful tools to achieve our goals during the affordability crisis and in the coming years.
Posted on: March 07,2025