YOUR STABLE MARKET
THE ASK
Position BJ’s as the smart place to turn when budgets feel tight, showing families that joining a wholesale club now means stability and savings they can count on.
THE PROBLEM
As tariffs and rising costs put pressure on everyday spending, families feel uncertain about how to stretch their budgets and unsure where they can reliably save.
THE INSIGHT
When money feels unpredictable, people look for places that feel steady.
THE SOLUTION
When money feels uncertain, BJ’s can be the steady choice families rely on.
PROBLEMFamilies are feeling the pressure of rising costs and tightening budgets.
We looked at how members and non-members talk about shopping during uncertain times and found it isn’t just about prices. It’s about protecting the way their families live. When things feel unpredictable, people don’t want to change everything. They want something that feels steady.
FROM THIS“I don’t even pretend to understand tariffs, I just know everything feels more expensive lately. It makes me nervous thinking about how much more groceries could cost in a few months.”
– Instagram reels
TO THIS“I can’t control what’s happening out there, but shopping at BJ’s makes me feel like I’m at least doing something smart for my family.”
– Member
Why the disconnect? Well, their reality has changed.
For a long time, many people saw wholesale clubs as something other families needed, not them. Practical, maybe, but not personal.
As tariffs and rising costs started showing up in everyday life, that shifted. More families began paying closer attention to where their money was going, not out of panic, but because being smart started to matter more.
When life feels unpredictable, people look for places they can trust.
With BJ’s, saving should feel steady.
CREATIVE CAMPAIGNYour stable market
We put everyday Americans front and center. Real families sharing real concerns about rising costs and real relief in finding a place that helps their budget feel manageable again.
We launched with high-impact billboards to make BJ’s impossible to miss when families were already feeling the pressure of rising costs.
We met people where financial uncertainty already lived, with targeted placements on sites like Nasdaq that framed BJ’s as a steady choice in an unsteady moment.
Quick-turn videos featuring real, relatable voices helped make the message feel human, not heavy, even on a minimal budget.
WHY IT WORKED
We didn’t ask people to rethink how they shop, we simply showed them they didn’t have to.
By leading with the brands families already trust, the campaign removed the biggest barrier to choosing a wholesale club: fear of compromise. Instead of positioning BJ’s as an alternative to the grocery store, it positioned BJ’s as the smarter version of it.
The simple, repeatable copy system also made the idea easy to scale across teams and channels, keeping acquisition and engagement aligned around one clear story.
RESULTS + IMPACT
For non-members, it reframed the club as a place to find the brands they already buy, making membership feel more relevant and immediately worthwhile.
For members, it reinforced that the value they pay for isn’t just in bulk, but in everyday savings on brands they already love.
The simple, repeatable copy system also made the idea easy to scale across teams and channels, keeping acquisition and engagement aligned around one clear story.
TEAM
Creative Director: Keith Evans, Tim Bildsten
Copywriter: Carly Smith
Design: Jonathan Biggs
Media: Noble