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Stuck in traffic? Tired of the drive? Want to curb your emissions and cut your commute?

It’s time to try transit.

CUPE transit workers in British Columbia have launched a new out-of-home and social media campaign to help bring more people on board. And our team is excited to bring the campaign to life.

Transit ridership fell dramatically during the pandemic in cities across Canada and the US. And ridership still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. After two years, many people are simply out of the habit of taking public transit.

That’s a big problem. Low ridership could mean more cuts to transit service. And that hurts people’s access to good jobs, education, and housing – and hurts the climate by keeping more vehicles on the road.

Major transit agencies – from Chicago to Toronto and New York City – have launched advertising campaigns to bring riders back. And now, CUPE Locals 4500 and 7000 in BC are taking action to help get more riders back on public transit in Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, and Victoria.

Together with CUPE and their members who work for SkyTrain, Coast Mountain Bus Company, and BC Transit, we’ve developed a campaign that speaks directly to drivers stuck in traffic. Billboards on major streets pose questions to drivers, reminding them of the many benefits of transit. It’s a natural contrast – between being stuck in gridlock or being on a moving train.

Multiple versions of the creative help keep the message fresh, no matter where you look. And our team developed a simple, easy-to-read design – with neon yellow accents that lend an industrial feel to the creative. 

The design approach is purposefully clear and uncluttered to help convey the simplicity of choosing transit. Because practical, reliable, and simple is exactly the message we want to deliver.

Accompanied by an extensive campaign across social platforms, our layered tactics are reaching our audience multiple times throughout their commute and their day. Our social ads feature CUPE members prominently, showing the real faces of transit workers who help deliver a great service every day. It adds a human dimension and personalizes the campaign in a way that works particularly well for social platforms. And it reminds our audience that transit workers play a vital role in delivering the services that make our communities strong. 

Want to talk about how we can protect and improve public services in your community? Give us a call. We’re here to help.

When you think of health research and innovation, Ottawa should be top of mind. 

It’s the place where better care is being delivered and developed every day – thanks to a unique partnership amongst the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Health Sciences, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), The Ottawa Hospital, Hôpital Montfort, Bruyère Continuing Care, and The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.

Through their close collaboration, these institutions are forming Ottawa’s Academic Health Network. And together, they’re making Ottawa the place to be for world-leading health research and cutting-edge clinical care. 

From unlocking the secrets of genetics to finding novel therapies for rare diseases, new discoveries are occurring every day inside Ottawa’s hospitals and health faculties. And those discoveries are improving care for patients and families around the world.

That’s a story worth sharing.

This spring, the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine – Canada’s first and largest bilingual medical faculty – asked our team to help raise awareness of Ottawa’s Academic Health Network.

Each institution is known for its unique expertise.
What isn’t widely known is the power of their partnership.

The challenge was clear. Each of Ottawa’s hospitals and health faculties has a unique identity, its own character, and strong brand awareness with its key audiences. Each institution is known for its unique expertise. But what isn’t widely known is the power of their partnership.

Our job was to elevate them together. To build awareness amongst medical researchers about Ottawa’s Academic Health Network, we needed to show the connection and collaboration amongst these institutions – and the unique opportunities this cooperation creates for conducting health research in Ottawa.

Working with our production partners, our team filmed new footage inside Ottawa’s hospitals and health faculties. And families, researchers, and staff generously shared their time and stories with our team. 

The result is a beautiful long-form video that welcomed attendees to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame laureate induction ceremony in Ottawa on June 17, 2022. 

The bilingual video showcases the stories and voices of researchers who have chosen to make Ottawa their home. From providing world-class pediatric care to ensuring that planetary health and social accountability are at the heart of medicine, researchers have come from around the world to do exceptional work right here.

Partnership. Connection. Collaboration. Together, they make Ottawa the place for everyone – from world-leading health researchers to the next generation of students – to take their next step forward.

The work we do isn’t about winning awards. 

It’s about winning real results for people, winning hearts and minds for good causes, and winning positive change in people’s lives.

But once in a while, it’s a nice perk to be recognized for making top-notch persuasive ads – that get noticed by our peers in the advertising industry.

We’re thrilled to announce that our work with Canada’s NDP has been recognized with four awards at the 2022 Pollie Awards, sponsored by the American Association of Political Consultants. 

For our team, it was a huge privilege to work as the lead ad agency with Jagmeet Singh and Canada’s NDP in the 2021 federal election. And we couldn’t be more proud to help Jagmeet bring his message to millions of Canadians during the campaign. 

Judged alongside the best work from Democratic campaigns across the US, it’s an honour to be recognized by the Pollies for delivering a fully-integrated ad campaign designed to reach more people than ever.

Best in Show – Democrat
Silver

We developed a unified campaign brand with a look-and-feel that reflected what people love most about Jagmeet. It’s fresh, energetic, and aspirational – just like him! And with an upbeat and relentlessly positive campaign from day one, the NDP offered Canadians a refreshing and optimistic choice. Because better is possible.

To connect with voters, we crafted ads in 10 languages. And the NDP was the only party to run tight 10 second ads on broadcast TV – a great way of reaching our audience again and again.

Best Digital or Internet Campaign – Democrat
Bronze Award

Our innovative media strategy delivered huge digital reach – achieving over 97 million digital impressions. From smartphones and Connected TV to podcast ads and elevator screens, we helped Canadians see more – and hear more – of the NDP’s positive message. 

Most Original/Innovative Collateral Material – Democrat
Gold Award

Jagmeet’s brand of politics is all about being with people. So we brought the ad campaign to where people are at! We reached people on the street with wild postings, met them on transit with a streetcar takeover in Toronto, and joined them on screens in restaurants and bars, salons and apartment elevators.

Our goal? Connect with people in a split-second. And put a smile on more faces.

Best Use of Negative or Contrast – Democrat
Bronze Award

After six years of disappointment from Prime Minister Trudeau, the NDP offered progressive voters a message of hope and optimism. This ad, His Votes, uses real footage of Trudeau voting against the very policies he claimed to champion. By leaning into verifiable facts backed up with footage from parliamentary votes, this ad gives voters new information that they deserved to know.

We’re proud of a campaign that showed what people love about Jagmeet. He’s real, honest, and down-to-earth. And we’re honoured to be recognized amongst the top political campaigns of 2021 from across North America.

Want to talk about your next campaign? 

We’re always here to help. Together, let’s do some good!

At The NOW Group, we’re dedicated to projects that make life better for people across Canada. And this spring, we’re honoured to partner with Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada on a new public awareness campaign to help end violence against Inuit women and girls – and meet survivors’ needs.

Everyone has a right to be safe and live in healthy communities. But across Canada, far too many women continue to experience violence and live in fear.

The rate of violence experienced by Inuit women is 14 times higher than the national average. And the broken system of courts and policing remains out-of-touch with Inuit values and culture, leaving many survivors without the help and support they need.

As the national non-profit organization representing Inuit women across Canada, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada works tirelessly to promote the rights of Inuit women and children. In 2018, we worked together to develop the award-winning Believe. Ask. Connect. campaign.

Now, we’ve partnered again on Pauktuutit’s latest campaign, with a beautiful and authentic ad filmed in and around Iqaluit – and airing across Northern Canada in English and Inuktitut.

Pauktuutit’s new campaign is informed by conversations with Inuit women across Inuit Nunangat, and a multi-year research project to study the criminal justice system’s response to gender-based violence in Inuit communities.

The research findings confirm more resources are urgently needed to meet survivors’ needs. Inuit communities hold the solutions to help end violence, but need immediate funding for shelters, transitional housing, and more community-led supports.

With stunning footage of the land and beautiful portrait shots, the new ad achieves the essential balance of speaking about violence while showing the incredible strength of Inuit women and communities. And the voiceover delivers the message that “we need more help and resources to guide us gently towards hope and healing.”

Meeting Survivors’ Needs was only possible because of the valuable contributions of the Inuit Women’s Advisory Committee, whose members have helped ensure the campaign reflects the lived experience of Inuit women of Inuit Nunangat.

To learn more about this campaign and add your voice, visit Pauktuutit.ca.