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Back in 1991 the advertising team working on Mike Harcourt and the BC NDP’s successful BC election campaign bonded. We liked working together, and I realized something important: there are very specific skills required for political and advocacy advertising – skills that are not usually found in mainstream advertising. Making change is not only about winning arguments, it is also about winning hearts and minds. It’s a lot more nuanced than selling a product.

So, when TV and entertainment producer Shane Lunny pitched the idea for breaking new ground and creating a new kind of ad agency I signed on. He had the creative cool and infrastructure, Dennis McGann and I had strategic campaign experience. The fourth founding partner was Larry Huber, Shane’s business manager. I knew nothing about running a business and wouldn’t have risked it without Larry’s reassuring presence. The NOW Communications Group was born in a funky old brick office on Beatty Street in Vancouver 30 years ago.

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. Our very first advocacy campaign was for the BC Federation of Labour. They needed to pave the way for labour law reform and close off potential opposition from employers. We did opinion research, developed a message, and came up with our TV campaign for ‘fair and balanced labour laws’. The client was happy, the reforms were implemented without a hitch, and the rest as they say, is history.

In the mid-1990s our work started gaining international recognition. NOW’s anti-tobacco campaign for the BC Ministry of Health really put us on the map. Then, in 1999 NOW scored a breakthrough with the successful election campaign for Manitoba Premier Gary Doer. And NOW went national.

I’m particularly proud that the mainstay of NOW’s client base over the years has been unions. Making life better for ordinary working people is sometimes hard work, but it is always worthwhile. 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. Congratulations to the whole team! May the next 30 years bring ever more success for you and your clients.

Ron Johnson co-founded, and is a former partner, of NOW. He remains a source of inspiration and wisdom for our team.

To start the New Year, Jenn Bowie, our digital media buyer, and Aylwin Lo, NOW’s creative technology specialist, sat down for a conversation about cookies. The digital kind!

They talked about how the use of cookies is changing and what that means for our campaigns and the ability to reach audiences.

Spoiler alert – building your own community of supporters is going to become even more important to helping you reach persuadable audiences who share your interests.

Here’s what Jenn and Aylwin had to say.

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Aylwin: Let’s start with the basics, Jenn. What is a cookie?

Jenn: A cookie is a little bit of code that your browser uses to communicate information back and forth with a website you’re visiting, like what you looked at, if you filled anything out, how long you spent and what you clicked. From an advertising perspective, a cookie lets you build and track different audience segments – helping you to reach them.

AL: The cookie is something that we’re used to seeing and hearing about. But it’s going away. Why is that?

JB: Not all cookies are going away. First-party cookies that allow your browser to communicate directly with the site it’s visiting will still exist, but third-party cookies that allow sites to share information with advertisers are being phased out.

A lot of it has to do with Google’s business model. Google Chrome has something like 83 percent of market share in North America, which is huge. And other browsers are following what Google does to make sure that they stay competitive with Chrome.

AL: Okay, so it’s not fair to talk about “the death of the cookie”? Is it more accurate to say that the cookie is just becoming a first-party tool rather than a third-party tool?

JB: Yes, I would say the “death of the cookie” is, actually, more of an evolution.

Remember when the pandemic started and people really got into baking? I saw Oreos baked into chocolate chip cookies. And I thought, “That’s kind of an evolved cookie!”

Now, our digital cookies are evolving, too. This is not necessarily bad and it’s not necessarily good, but the unknown is what keeps us media nerds on top of our game!

AL: What do we expect will replace third-party cookies?

JB: That’s the million-dollar question!

There’s a couple of different efforts. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is working with digital providers on the Unified ID (UID) and Google has also introduced something called Privacy Sandbox.

It’s not clear which of those two things – or if both of them – will be used moving forward.

COVID has complicated this situation and slowed things down, as well. When the “death of the cookie” was first announced, it was supposed to happen in 2020. Then it was supposed to be gone by June 2021 and now it’s looking like it will be late 2022 at the earliest.

AL: What does this all mean for advertisers? What are media plans going to look like, going forward?

JB: Strong media plans will be based on first-party data. And I can see a lot of campaigns moving towards direct buys and real-life indicators.

I also see contextual methods coming back in a really big way for the programmatic space. So, rather than matching content to audience behaviour, it’s more likely to match ad content with the context of the page.

If you’re reading an article about health care, you might get an ad related to health care, or if you’re reading an article about the importance of education and childhood development you might get an ad from a teachers’ union. It will be much more common to align the content to the context of the ad.

We’re constantly checking in with the companies we buy digital advertising from about what this cookie change means for the services they can provide. And we will continue to only use vendors that can give us reporting that can be validated because, at the end of the day, that is the most important thing. It’s about delivering quality results – and that’s what we’ll continue to do for our clients.

AL: Is there Canada-specific knowledge to keep in mind?

JB: Canadians are a very different population to those in other places. So it is incredibly important to understand how vendors are coming to the conclusions they’re coming to. Sometimes they will come to you with bright shiny things, thinking they have the best stuff around, but it comes with six asterisks and it’s based on U.S. data, not Canadian data.

It’s more important than ever to understand the credibility of who you’re working with, and ask those important questions – and really challenge people on what they’re telling you. There are people who have really amazing data but not everybody does, yet everybody will tell you they do. Vet it thoroughly and have transparent conversations with partners you trust.

Be wary of anyone who says they can get a million impressions for a hundred dollars. It’s not just about quantity, it’s about quality.

AL: How do you think these changes might affect how campaigns perform or do you think it’ll be just different?

JB: It will just be different!

I liken this to other changes in the digital space. Remember pop-ups? They were very common for a long time, and then went away. People thought that was the death of digital advertising!

But we’ve changed the way we think about advertising online. Now there’s these set positions on the page where ads exist and it’s a better user experience.

Digital media is constantly evolving. This change is a big news item but, every year, there’s a ton of little changes that get made in the digital space and it’s what makes it a dynamic and interesting medium. It can cause anxiety around effectiveness, but as long as you’re working with a team that has the knowledge that helps you succeed, you’ll be able to continue to succeed.

AL: I have to ask one last question, Jenn. What is your favourite cookie?

JB: Haha! My favourite type of cookie is one my grandma used to have – these little rolled up wafers that were long and like a straw. I really loved those and, when I was a kid at her house, we’d have them with tea. Now, every time I see them I smile because they remind me of good times. They’re called Pirouette cookies!

Every campaign has a purpose.

And the Summit Marketing Effectiveness Awards recognize excellence in marketing campaigns that do what they’re supposed to do.

It’s about changing minds and shifting behaviours. And it takes smart strategy, top-notch creative, and a talented production crew.

Our team is thrilled to win 4 awards at the 2021 Summit Marketing Effectiveness Awards!

The competition featured over 1,900 entries from 14 countries, with winners announced in late December. Only 7 percent of entries were recognized with winning status.

The 2021 Summit Marketing Effectiveness Awards included entries from Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Latvia, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

We’re incredibly proud that our clients’ campaigns stood out to the judges – and won recognition in Government Marketing, Healthcare / Medicine Industry Marketing, Education Marketing, and Outdoor Advertising.

Congratulations to our clients and production partners across Canada!

Platinum Award – Health/Medicine Industry Marketing

Client: Health Sciences Association of Alberta
Campaign: Public Health Care Campaign

Silver Award – Education Marketing

Client: Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
Ad: Building Up

Silver Award – Outdoors & Out-of-Home

Client: CUPE Local 500 (Winnipeg)
Campaign: It’s Yours

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Best of Category – Government Marketing

Client: Province of British Columbia
Ad: Every Morning

Great ads have the power to make you giggle. Or bring you to the edge of tears.

Tell a story in seconds. And change your mind, forever.

They can be beautiful and cinematic. Or simple – and effective.

But no matter what, great ads make us feel something. They stick with us. And leave impressions that last.

Here’s just a few of our team’s favourite ads from around the world in 2021. Enjoy!

Government of France – Parce que l’on rêve tous de se retrouver, vaccinons-nous !

This heart-warming scene of two children racing to hug their grandmother conveys one of the best reasons to get vaccinated: It’s the way to embrace our loved ones again.

100% Pure New Zealand – Travelling Under the Social Influence

New Zealand welcomed tourists back in 2021 with an appeal to avoid travelling under the “social influence” – and share something new.

Visit Sweden – Discover the Originals

The folks at Sweden’s national tourism agency sure know how to connect with an international audience. And they want us to forget about IKEA!

Mint Mobile – Dream Job

A sequel to Match Made in Hell, Ryan Reynolds delivers again – with a hilarious ad featuring the newest employee at Big Wireless.

UNICEF – Don’t Let the Vaccine Become a Luxury

An incredibly simple concept, this 30 second ad and print campaign from Norway delivers a message that’s as important today as ever.

Inspired by Iceland – Icelandverse

Just try not laughing out loud at Inspired by Iceland’s response to the “Metaverse.”

Deutsche Welle – Sleepless Nights for Autocrats

With the perfect soundtrack and just a few simple lines of text, this ad from Germany’s international broadcaster delivers the message that DW’s journalism makes it harder for autocrats to sleep at night.

Government of Chile – Campaña #YoNoFui

You don’t have to understand Spanish to understand the message of this ad. We also love the gorgeous artistic direction.

From everyone at The NOW Group, happy holidays and happy new year!