Chalking up a century is rare for brands in this part of the world, so Four Square was pretty proud to mark that milestone in July. We met up with the iconic store to hear about the extended 100th birthday celebrations and find out what’s next.
Named after the shape founder J Heaton Barker drew around the date on his calendar – July 4, 1924 – it has now been 100 years since Four Square started. In that time, the little shop has grown to become one of the most loved brands among Kiwis.
Over its century in business, Four Square has become ingrained in Kiwiana culture, with brand mascot Charlie taking his place among New Zealand’s most recognisable icons.
But with such a rich heritage, Four Square was faced with a conundrum: how to celebrate 100 years in a way that acknowledged the past but also looked toward the future.
“For us, turning 100 was a big deal,” says Diane Clark, Head of Marketing and CX for Four Square.
“The biggest opportunity was we’re turning 100, but how do we talk about it in a fresh and modern way that we are evolving for the future?”
Four Square has forged its identity as a brand that is best known for its convenience, with Clark saying that is where it has an advantage.
Road to 100
But in recent years, people have become less familiar with the stores, and were slowly falling out of love with the brand. The marketing team could no longer assume customers had grown up with ‘The Four Square Man’.
So, relying solely on nostalgia to celebrate its 100th birthday wasn’t on the cards.
Instead, Four Square undertook a major rebrand to evolve and freshen its appeal to old and new customers.
“It’s kind of been a road to 100 for us,” says Clark, who has been spearheading the project.
Heavily driven by customer insights, Four Square reinvigorated everything from operations to its ranges to optimising the in-store experience.
Post rebrand, Clark says Four Square wanted to emphasise not only its staying power, but also its transformation and plans for the next 100 years.
When it came to getting the birthday celebrations going, Clark says the marketing strategy celebrated the past, present and future of Four Square.
“We don’t have the budgets that Pak’nSave have, so for us we have to be bolder. And though Pak’nSave is pretty bold, we are bolder in terms of colourfulness, standing out and making our media and marketing work a lot harder,” she adds.
“It was about standing out, having fun and knowing that Charlie could have fun, we could push it there and play almost outside of the category norms in marketing and what people would expect from us.”
And have fun is exectly what they did.
Nostalgic appeal
Clark identified that Four Square’s birthday had to be all about the customer, and what the customer wants is Charlie.
“We know that everyone wants a piece of Charlie and a bit of nostalgia. We decided early on that it was really important to give people the ability to participate in this,” she says.
“We’ve got such an icon in Charlie – that’s fundamental for us and how we celebrate using Charlie as our hero.”
From exclusive merch like tote bags, hats and the highly coveted Charlie cake tin, the brand made sure customers felt a part of the celebration.
Everyone wants a piece of Kiwi history.
“Taking a really localised approach and how we celebrate, that’s been a big part of it,” Clark explains.
“It’s really important to put the customer at the heart, remembering what it is we are doing. When we put the brief in for this campaign, it was around, ‘Okay, we are turning 100 and it’s really important to us, but how
do we make it about a celebration with our communities and with our customers?’”
And it doesn’t end at limited-edition merch. Charlie’s birthday has only really begun.
A ‘hundy summer’ for the brand is in the works with exciting collaborations; Kiwis can expect this to kick off soon.
Clark says this is how Four Square is letting Kiwis know it’s not just about the past 100 years, but the brand’s efforts to be here again for another century.
“Yes, we’ve been here for 100 years, but we will be for another 100 because we’re evolving for the future and keeping ourselves relevant.”
This was first published in the 2024 September-October NZ Marketing Magazine issue. Subscribe here.
