Sloche-Style Brand Insurgency

“In the summer of 2000, Couche-Tard incited a minor revolution in the world of slushies—the sugary mixture of crushed ice and sweet flavours adored by children. Up to that time, convenience stores in its network sold products from the American company Slush Puppie. As in many other areas, Bouchard felt he needed to impose his own brand with the hope of making another profit margin grow. Couche-Tard invested millions of dollars in acquiring hundreds of slushy distributors, developing flavours and creating an irreverent advertising campaign intended to make a big splash. Couche-Tard’s “Sloche” was named in reference to a substance well known by Quebecers in their oft-frigid northern climate: the dirty muck found along streets when the snow melts in spring. *Sloche* is part snow, part water and thoroughly filthy. And with a name like that, why not take things a step further? Raspberry Sloche, scarlet-red in colour, was christened “Sang-Froid” (“Cold Blood”). Grape was “Full Zinzin” (“Completely Insane,” with a play on the sound of the French word for grape, *raisin*). Blueberry was named “Schtroumpf Écrasé” (“Crushed Smurf”).[[34]](private://read/01j5mtjqkzkqnzrmf5b4rr6pr2/#notes34) Another flavour, unsettlingly black in colour, was called Goudron Sauvage (“Wild Tar”). Clearly, the target was a young audience, in that rebellious zone between the ages of nine and 17. The advertising campaign that accompanied the launch of the product put more weight on that strategy. The ads brazenly mocked common public health messages. Banners on busses proclaimed that a Sloche “contains eight non-essential elements,” and announced that it constitutes “a good source of crushed ice.” Their sarcastic approach went so far as to parody the advertisements imposed by Health Canada on cigarette packages, featuring graphic photos showing the ravages of cancer caused by tobacco use. Couche-Tard’s referential advertisement showed a discoloured face, with the caption “Sloche can cause colouration of the mouth.” Then there was the ad showing the interior of a human skull, with the phrase “Sloche temporarily freezes the brain.” The ad campaign for “Rosebeef” Sloche won five awards from the advertising association Publicité-Club de Montréal, including its highest distinction, the Grand Coq d’Or. The formula’s success was explosive. Sloche sales went through the roof, reaching 400 percent of Slush Puppie sales in just one summer. Gross margin on the product reached 60 percent.”

“Couche-Tard quickly developed a model that would guide its future stores. “Strategy 2000” is no doubt the best example of the four founders’ willingness to use the best ideas developed by other members of the Couche-Tard group as inspiration. The project was originally developed by the Mac’s division, just before Silcorp was taken over by Couche-Tard. It was then known as “Store 2000.” The model store was somewhat larger than most existing ones, sometimes as big as 280 square metres (3,000 square feet). It included a self-serve food court, with a coffee and bakery counter, as well as a fast-food section that was often concessioned to a well-known chain like Pizza Hut or Subway. Its most original feature was its decor: it could take the look of an old-time general store, mirror a European bistro or even an exotic jungle. Each establishment would determine its own interior design, based on its customer demographics. The idea was to make it an attractive destination, rather than a last resort that was convenient and nothing more.”