By Aneesha Singh, Account Director; and Angela-Gabriella Conte, Account Executive
In Quebec, PR is more than just an encore.
After a popular large-scale run in Toronto, Dr. Oetker’s Suprema: The Opera (and delicious frozen pizza) was headed to la belle province. The Toronto events had established a strong foundation at a larger scale, but Montreal called for a version built around that city’s distinct culture and rhythm.
Our brief was to reimagine elements of Suprema: The Opera in collaboration with our partners at Publicis Sports and Entertainment as a compelling reason for Quebec consumers to sample and share. The business goals were clear: build awareness, encourage trial, and support regional growth.
That’s how Publicis Sports and Entertainment created Un Mini Opéra. The twist? The opera goes “sample sized” at three minutes long, the time it takes to savour a slice (instead of 11 minutes, the time it takes to bake the pie). Staged in a small custom-built opera house with just a few seats on a structure that could move around major Montreal festivals like a travelling circus, the new vision created broad, accessible sampling opportunities. The “Opera for One” itself offered something more intimate than Toronto: a small-format performance that connected food and storytelling in a VIP experience.
Building a Quebec strategy around local culture
To plan the tour, Publicis Sports and Entertainment started by asking where the experience would feel natural. Audience fit, market relevance, sampling potential and shareability shaped the event plan. In Quebec, festival culture is a major touchstone of the summer experience, so we planned to bring the Opera for One to the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Just for Laughs Montreal, and Festival d’été de Québec in Quebec City.
These were not interchangeable stops on a tour. Each offered a different crowd, pace and cultural context. That meant considering how guests would discover the brand, move through the footprint and spend time with the experience.
Designing a Quebec experience people would wait for
The Opera for One experience invited guests into a distinctive branded setting, supported by guided tastings, personalized welcomes and knowledgeable hosts. Across the program, the opera drew more than 1,200 attendees, and most guests spent 30 minutes or more with the experience.
Execution required careful coordination across the event footprint, food service, performers, hosts, media and creators. It also required flexibility. Montreal audiences had to experience the concept in a way that felt locally relevant, rather than as a smaller copy of Toronto.
Extending the Montreal event beyond the footprint
To keep the campaign moving even after the ovens cooled, North Strategic used paid and organic creators to build anticipation and share the on-site experience. Paid partners were selected for engagement and alignment with Suprema’s premium positioning. Teaser content promoted upcoming events, while live creator content captured the opera and sampling experience. Shout-out to the rest of our team on the ground, including Victoria Gastrin and Emanuela Lolli, who helped make it a success.
The wider campaign delivered more than 22 million paid creator impressions. Organic creator coverage added more than 71,000 impressions through eight reels and 77 stories, while media relations generated more than 141,800 earned impressions with entirely positive sentiment.
Sampling also exceeded expectations. Across eight Ontario and Quebec events, the team served more than 126,000 slices.
What Un Mini Opéra in Quebec taught us
The strongest result was how the pieces of the pie worked together.
Product trial challenged expectations about frozen pizza quality. Cultural relevance helped Suprema connect with Quebec consumers discovering the brand for the first time. The opera gave the campaign an ownable centre, while sampling, creators, media and paid support expanded its reach.
For teams bringing a successful activation into a new market, the lesson is simple: protect the core idea, then make room for local flavour.
To learn more about North Strategic’s PR and influencer marketing services, contact us today.
