Dive Brief:

• Meijer employees are the stars of the grocer's latest television commercials, part of a campaign called "Quality is No Accident," according to a company press release. This is the first time Meijer has had team members in its advertising.
• The campaign showcases the retailer’s quality standards and its employees' responsibilities and knowledge of their work. Each commercial will highlight various departments of the store including meat, produce, bakery, clothing and pharmacy.
• To audition for a role in the commercials, employees submitted videos to Meijer’s marketing team for review. Once they casted the employees, filming took place across many of Meijer’s Midwest locations as well as a studio in California.

Dive Insight:

In launching an ad campaign using its own team members as actors, Meijer aims to craft an authentic brand image that will allow its large stores to make a more intimate connection with shoppers. Giving employees the opportunity to showcase their knowledge of the department they work in can help customers feel at ease and more confident when purchasing products in stores. 

Customer service is one of the top factors for shoppers in deciding where to get groceries, and with grocers trying harder than ever to get more people into stores the investment is important for Meijer. The American Customer Satisfaction Index’s (ACSI) annual survey ranking grocery stores found that Meijer ranked in the bottom 10, along with Walmart and Save-A-Lot. 

Quality of foods, particularly in fresh food departments like meat, produce and bakery have a significant impact on customer loyalty as well. In its campaign, Meijer displays its commitment to proper handling of high-quality products — even bananas, which the company said it has stricter standards for than the USDA. Cultivating a reputation for quality, especially for the departments highlighted in Meijer's ad campaign, could help the retailer become a "go-to" store for more customers. 

In the past few months, Meijer has had some major announcements including the rollout of a Shop & Scan service to 23 locations, expansion in Ohio and more openings of its small-scale urban stores like Bridge Street Market, which opened last summer in Grand Rapids, and its Woodward Corner Market that will open this year in Detroit.