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It’s Awards Season! And we’re excited to announce that NOW and our clients have won six awards at the 2022 Reed Awards.

Recognizing excellence in campaign and advocacy advertising, this year’s Reed Awards include international entries from across Europe, Latin America, and Australia.

We’re thrilled that NOW’s work stood out to the judges. This year, our clients’ campaigns have been honoured with top awards for:

• Best Canadian TV Ad
• Best Canadian Online Video
• Best Canadian Online Ad Campaign
• Best International Use of Outdoor Advertising
• Best International Online Ad Campaign

We couldn’t be more proud of the work that our team and our clients are doing – to make life better for people.

And as NOW celebrates our 30^th anniversary, we’re especially proud to have been named Best International Firm. It’s an honour we share with our clients and production partners across Canada.

Take a look at one of our winning entries!

Best International Online Ad Campaign

Parallel Stories
Campaign: Care Can’t Wait
Client: Hospital Employees’ Union

Long-term care needs a long-term fix. Working with the Hospital Employees’ Union in BC, our team designed a new iteration of HEU’s Care Can’t Wait campaign – with fresh creative, an innovative approach to storytelling, and a beautiful new website.

To bring the stories of long-term care residents and workers to life, we developed two ads that complement each other. Told from the perspective of a senior and a worker, these ads reflect the compassion and dedication that workers demonstrate every day – and how it means the world to seniors living in care.

To find out more and show your support for the campaign, visit CareCantWait.ca.

From casual viewers to die-hard fans, Canadian audiences can’t get enough sports.

28 million Canadians tuned into TV coverage of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, according to CBC. Viewership for digital video soared by 62 per cent over the previous games.

And this winter, from the Beijing Olympic Games to the World Cup qualifying matches, millions of people are watching Canada win.

Sporting events offer huge potential to reach audiences. But too often, public sector and non-profit advertisers aren’t taking advantage of every opportunity to get into the game. And that could be a mistake.

There’s a myth that it’s mostly men who watch sports. But it’s just not true.

Watching sports – with a seat-warmer underneath you or from the comfort of your own home – is an event for the entire family. And if there was ever a gender-gap in sports viewership, it’s disappeared.

Women account for nearly half of all NHL hockey viewers, as of fall 2020. And women’s sporting events draw enormous ratings.

When the Canadian women’s soccer team won gold in Tokyo, over 4.4 million viewers were watching, making it the most-watched event by Canadians at the Olympics.

Sports viewers are exactly the audiences who need to hear your message.

And now, there are more ways than ever to get noticed – no matter what your budget.

Here are 8 tactics to help get you in the game.

1. Cut through with targeted TV for big events

Sure, multiple Super Bowl ads might be out of reach. But you can still consider TV with targeted reach to make it more affordable.

For instance, it’s possible to buy one TV spot for the Super Bowl or for just one night of Hockey Night in Canada in just one region – putting your message on the air for a big audience without breaking the bank.

2. Show up on sports radio

It’s where fans go when they’re on the go. And radio is affordable and widely-available.

Here’s a bonus. Radio has huge creative potential. Just imagine the sound effects!

3. Do a digital takeover

Sports fans turn to The Score and other popular sports news sites to keep up with every goal and every trade. Digital ads and website takeovers are a great way to reach new eyes.

4. Make a splash with out-of-home advertising

When CUPE 500 in Winnipeg needed to save local pools and arenas from being shut down, we worked together to design an award-winning campaign featuring billboards near the facilities at risk of closure.

We caught drivers’ attention as they drove their kids to the pool and arena, raising awareness with a highly targeted message that was instantly relevant to people’s lives.

5. Sponsor a sporting event

In Saskatchewan, SGEU has sponsored the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for years. And it’s a brilliant way of building brand recognition and supporting the community. Every month, there’s even a SGEU MVP of the Month.

From sponsoring a national event to supporting local and regional leagues, sports events bring communities together. Showing up is a great way to show your support.

6. Get noticed with rink board advertising

How often is your audience sitting with your ad for… hours?

Rink boards are a fantastic way to reach arena audiences and make a big impression. Avoid faces on rink boards – because puck marks are going to happen. And stick with a message that’s clear, simple, and tailored to fans.

7. Go deep with podcasts

Dedicated sports fans love their podcasts. And there’s lots to choose from. Sportsnet alone produces at least 19 podcast shows!

That’s a lot of ears. And podcast listeners love storytelling that speaks directly to them.

8. Get creative

Every ad needs a hook. And sports offer great potential for creative concepts.

Depending on your campaign, a partnership with a local team might make sense. Interviews with athletes and coaches – well-known local sports personalities – are a great tactic to help public health messages reach a larger audience.

Got questions? Want to explore tactics for your next campaign? Give us a call! We’re always here to help.  

After two years of COVID-19, people working in health care across the country are reaching a breaking point.

It’s hard work. And every shift brings more hard moments for workers on the frontlines.

When provincial governments pick fights with workers and undermine public health care, it makes the job even harder.

This week, the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, which represents nearly 30,000 members across the province, has launched a new campaign to pay tribute to the dedication of every health care professional – and start to build the case for action to ensure health care is there when Albertans need it.

The new ad, Who We Work For, shows the relentless challenges that health care workers are facing. And their unrelenting commitment to deliver the care that Albertans count on.

Working with HSAA, we wanted to give voice to the exhaustion that health care professionals are feeling, while reminding viewers that the workers inside Alberta’s hospitals and clinics are on the same side as their patients.

Who We Work For does just that. It connects HSAA members to the public that they support day in and day out. And it elevates the importance of public health care in the minds of Albertans.

As the province faces yet another wave of COVID-19 without the investment and support that the health care system needs, there is only one thing that is keeping health care workers going and that is their commitment to their patients.

“We know who we work for,” the ad concludes. “We do it for you.”

It’s a big year at NOW.

We’re celebrating 30 years of creating great campaigns for good causes. And we couldn’t be prouder of the work we’ve done with you.

Our work is all about people.

It started with a few visionary communicators in Vancouver – and an idea for a new kind of creative agency: one that works to promote social good.

We wanted to create an advertising agency that would serve progressive causes and social good right across the country. We wanted to work with clients we believed in.”

Ron Johnson, founding co-partner

The world of advertising is constantly changing. And our team has changed, too. But the values that drive NOW forward have stayed consistent from the very start.

Our mission has always been to create ad campaigns that help make life better for everyday people.

And that’s what drives us forward every day. Since 1992 we’ve been jumping into the fight – to protect public services, improve workers’ rights, and build a more secure and sustainable future for everyone.

We don’t just make beautiful ads. We work strategically to change minds – and shift behaviours.

Thirty years ago, I could never have imagined the many accomplishments we would achieve and the enduring impact The NOW Group would have on causes and policies from coast to coast.”

Ron Johnson, founding co-partner

From our earliest projects to reduce tobacco use amongst young people to our most recent campaigns to end gender-based violence, we’ve worked on thousands of projects with incredible clients and colleagues across Canada.

We’re proud to be part of campaigns that have helped thousands of workers win better wages, better benefits, and more job security.

We’ve helped build stronger connections between parents and teachers. And between patients and frontline health care workers.

We’ve helped progressive leaders connect with millions of voters – and even win a few elections.

And along the way, we’ve trained a generation of communicators in the art of message: Connect, Contrast, and Solve!

Making change is not only about winning arguments. It is also about winning hearts and mind. It’s a lot more nuanced than selling a product.”

Ron Johnson, founding co-partner

It’s all about people.

What started as an idea 30 years ago has grown into what NOW is today: Canada’s leading creative agency dedicated to positive change. We’re constantly evolving, adapting and embracing new ways of communicating.

And we’re incredibly proud to be that rare ad agency that’s actually led by women – at every level.

We’re grateful for the opportunities our clients have given us over the past 30 years, and and all the work you’ve done to help make life better for others.

Together, let’s do even more good.

Read the reflections of NOW’s founding co-partner Ron Johnson here.