Four Square’s bro-labs bring the summer vibes

Four Square knows there’s no better way to spend summer than with your ‘bros’.

So in celebration of its 100th year and the holiday season, the national supermarket chain has released four new brand collaborations.

“We’re calling them bro-labs because we’re partnering with our bros,” says Diane Clark with a smile.

Head of Marketing & CX for Four Square, Clark explains the new partnerships: Cookie Time for a birthday cake themed cookie; Watties for a collectors edition bottle of tomato sauce, featuring Four Square mascot Charlie; Behemoth Breweries for a special hazy IPA; and with Tip Top to bring back orange rush ice blocks.

“Everyone missed it [orange rush]last summer, so we’re bringing it back hot in demand.”

Nostalgia factor

In a year that has been celebrating the supermarket’s centenary as well as announcing a rebrand, nostalgia was identified as the key angle by creative agency FCB.

“It is about looking back to look forward,” says Clark. “We are such a well-loved brand, but during that period we were losing a bit of love with our customers, so it was about reviving that love, reigniting that spark.

“How do we play nostalgia but in a modern twist?”

Four Square used to be the local, says Clark, telling the story of an FCB team member whose mum used to live across the road from one as a kid.

“They’d call it the pantry because they would drop in and pick up what they needed whenever they needed it.”

And as demographics and geography change and evolve, less and less people are growing up with a Four Square in their lives – so the job was all about creating new memories and connections for up and coming generations, says Clark.

Changing expectations

Part of this was evolving customer experience at a store level – making sure stocked items meet the needs and tastes of its community, a new price ticket called Everyday Great Price, as well as launching stores in urban areas.

For me, Four Square was the stuff of road trips, seen while traversing up and down the South Island as a kid – now, I found myself just around the corner from one on Auckland’s Eden Terrace. I tell Clark it’s perfect for when I’ve run out milk or need to pick up a missing ingredient for dinner – and that it wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be.

“That’s exactly it,” she says, “Having people walk through the door and be surprised that the price isn’t as expensive as they think it is. So we’re still working on moving that perception – it’s the hardest thing to shift.

“We’re working on educating our customers but we’re also realistic in the fact that we are never going to be as cheap as our competitions. So, it’s really about that value exchange – it’s worth what I pay versus what I get.

“You’re on the way somewhere, how can we help you make that shopping mission as easy as possible? It’s a mission to eat now, a meal to make later, or a top up shop, these are the key kind of places we really lean into.”

Summer vibes

The tendency to associate Four Square with regional towns was an added advantage for the rebrand and 100-year celebrations, says Clark. With many people travelling across the motu during summer they tend to stop in at these supermarkets.

“People feel really good in summer and so you can build those strong emotional connections. So, it was about how do you extend that summertime good feeling, those joyous moments and keep that nostalgia going for a new generation?”

Well, the answer to that was a partnership with Six60, which saw the Kiwi band tour the regions earlier in 2024, creating local moments with communities all over Aotearoa.

“It’s true to their song, Don’t Forget Your Roots. They are very much connected to their heartland and visiting their local communities because they know that so much of their audiences are in those rural towns,” says Clark.yUnexpected job

From April through May, they visited Four Squares across the country, starting in Houhora, Northland and ending in Stewart Island.

“It created that moment of unexpected joy for those communities, it created so much hype in the towns they were in because they don’t normally see a band of that stature coming to their local,” says Clark.

“They were welcomed by schools doing hakas and so many people turned out for it, and then they played an evening concert at a venue in the area as well.”

Coffee with Charlie

Mid-year, Four Square also released limited edition merchandise in celebration of its birthday, all featuring Charlie of course, which just flew out the door, says Clark.

“It’s been received with such open arms because Charlie is such a mascot.”

She goes on to share the story from about two years ago when a customer who was mid-renovation on their kitchen and reached out via email, asking to put a life-size version of Charlie on the pantry doors.

“What other supermarket brand can actually command that kind of integration into someone’s life so wholly? Waking up every day to have your coffee with Charlie – I don’t think that’s going to happen for the competitiors anytime soon, which is pretty cool.”

Charlie is the longevity, she explains. Everyone thinks he’s been around since Four Square started in 1924, but he was actually designed in the 1950s for an advertising campaign and has evolved over time.

“He reminds people of the good times, when you’re in summer… someone that you can really build a connection with.”

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