Hauler | Relish Studios

A Bananas Idea

8-bits of hard haulin’ side-scrollin’ adventure for a national grocer

The Challenge

In support of its viral Hauler campaign, No Frills’ AOR tapped Relish to come up with a disruptive and irreverent creative concept that would capture the imaginations of Millennials. So we set out to create a digital activation that could scale to rival McDonald’s Monopoly and Tim Horton’s Roll Up the Rim sales promotions.

The Solution

So we built them an outrageous and addictive 8-bit runner where players can earn their share of 50 million PC Optimum Points up for grabs during a two-week annual campaign window. Users choose a ‘hauler’ character to run through No Frills stores while grabbing groceries and dodging ‘Frills’ like piles of diamonds and swan sculptures made of butter. The higher the score, the more PC Optimum Points users get.

The Results

The inaugural campaign in 2019 earned a phenomenal ~4-minute session time, a 52% conversion rate, and resulted in the awarding of 25 million points in the first 24 hours post-launch. The game was such a runaway hit that No Frills doubled down and reinvested in Hauler: Aisles of Glory in the years since — adding more features, more PC Optimum Points, more prizes, and more ways to win. The subsequent campaigns have focused on building stronger ties to in-store purchases and have resulted in higher engagement, brand awareness, foot traffic, and sales.