WILMINGTON, Mass. — UniFirst Corp., a provider of customized business uniform programs, facility service products, and first aid and safety services, has launched the first national brand campaign in the company’s 86-year history.
Entitled “Always Deliver,” the campaign honors everyday frontline workers who work hard to support their families and to keep businesses up and running.
The campaign launched during the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament with a 60-second commercial on CBS, TSN, TBS, TNT, truTV and everywhere it is live streamed, on March 17 with additional 30-second spots running during the tournament through March 20.
The commercial is being supported by an integrated, multimedia campaign in select U.S. and Canadian markets with Always Deliver ads appearing on broadcast and cable networks, connected TV platforms, terrestrial and satellite radio, print publications, and digital formats, including social media and digital display.
UniFirst created Always Deliver in partnership with Boston-based advertising agency Allen & Gerritsen.
The company says the campaign comes at a pivotal time when the entire world is still navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic, which served, in part, as an inspiration behind its theme of paying homage to essential workers who always deliver for their customers.
Always Deliver features real-life workers and actual UniFirst employees, not trained actors or professional models, to help tell the story of the grit, integrity, and perseverance it takes to get the hard work done and the uniforms and services UniFirst provides to help them succeed.
The television commercial, directed by Michael Marantz and produced by M SS NG P ECES (Missing Pieces), opens with uniformed service workers in a variety of industries, including delivery staff, energy workers, automotive technicians, healthcare professionals, and food service employees, getting up at the crack of dawn to go to work and ending the day at home with their families.
It ends with UniFirst’s promise: “You Always Deliver for your customers and your family and that’s why UniFirst Always Delivers for you.”
“At the heart of Always Deliver are the hard-working uniformed workers we serve, and they include both our own staff and our customers. They’re the real stars here,” says Steven Sintros, UniFirst President and CEO.
“The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced what we already knew—our work is essential because we serve ‘essential workers’ … always delivering the uniforms and services they need that allow them to do their jobs. We’re with them every step of the way.”
This campaign is part of UniFirst’s ongoing brand evolution initiated approximately two years ago to support the evolving needs of its more than 2 million uniform wearers long term. The company redesigned its route service representatives (customer delivery staff) uniforms for an updated, contemporary look and then redesigned its fleet of vehicles across North America. This multimedia brand campaign targeting uniform decision-makers is the next step in that evolution.
“Our brand evolution demonstrates our commitment to making investments that support our long-term vision of becoming universally recognized as the premier uniform service provider in the industry,” says David Katz, UniFirst executive vice president of sales and marketing.
“This multimedia brand campaign tells the story of not only who we are, but why we do what we do and who we do it for.”
This milestone also has special meaning to Cynthia Croatti, UniFirst executive vice president and daughter of company founder Aldo Croatti.
“My father would be so proud to see us honor the worker in such an impactful way,” she says. “Aldo was a true visionary and founded our company based on the very premise that we must always focus on our customers—the workers we serve.”
To view the Always Deliver commercial, visit https://unifirst.com/company/videos/alwaysdeliver/.
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