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We’re excited to announce that our work with the Canadian Cancer Society—Canada’s largest cancer charity—has been honoured with five international awards in 2024 for marketing and advocacy effectiveness, including the:

• Gold award for Best Digital Social Media Campaign (International) at the AAPC Pollie Awards
• Silver award for Health/Medical Industry Marketing at this year’s Summit Marketing Effectiveness Awards
• Best Advocacy Advertising Campaign (Grassroots Advocacy) at the Reed Awards
• Best International Campaign (National) at the Reed Awards; and
• Best International Online Video (National) at the Reed Awards.

The AAPC Pollie Awards are regarded as the “Oscars of political advertising.” The Reed Awards honour the best campaign and public issue advertising from across the US and beyond.

And with over 1,800 submissions from 17 countries, the Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award’s measure what works—honouring strategic excellence, cutting-edge creative, and great results in campaigns from around the world.

And we couldn’t be prouder of the campaign we built with the Canadian Cancer Society to advocate for better palliative care services, in every corner of Canada.

Palliative care has the power to dramatically improve the quality of life for people experiencing life-limiting illnesses. And every individual and family who needs palliative care services should have the right to access it.

But today, too many people face significant barriers to receiving palliative care at the earliest opportunity in their care journey. There simply aren’t enough palliative care services, including hospices, in enough communities across Canada.

The Canadian Cancer Society is working to change that, in partnership with palliative care advocates across the country. And together, we developed a national, bilingual campaign to raise awareness and call for action.

The result is a compelling campaign called About Life, which features real people and real stories about the power of palliative care to make life better. Our team met with and interviewed families across Canada who have experienced the benefits of palliative care. And we filmed beautiful footage in people’s homes and communities—the places that give the greatest meaning to their lives.

The campaign features a 30 second signature ad and 90 second long-form videos, which share the deeply personal and moving stories of how palliative care improves people’s quality of life. And together, they help to dispel the greatest misconception about palliative care:

It’s not about dying. It’s about life.

We’re so grateful to everyone who generously shared their time—and their stories—with our team. We couldn’t have done this work alone.

To see more of the campaign and add your voice for better palliative care for all, visit cancer.ca/PalliativeCare.

14 million impressions. 3,300 digital screens. And the biggest one-day campaign we’ve ever run.

Our media team’s first-of-its-kind interactive outdoor ad campaign for the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario has just been awarded Best International Use of Outdoor Advertising and Best Canadian Use of Outdoor Advertising at the 2024 Reed Awards—plus Gold for Best Outdoor Advertising Campaign (International) at the 2024 Pollie Awards! And we couldn’t be prouder to help celebrate teachers and educators in a brand new way.

It all started last fall as ETFO, Canada’s largest teachers’ union, faced a challenging round of bargaining. After years of cuts to classroom supports, the government was working to drive a division between the union, teachers, and parents. And ETFO needed to tell the real story: Parents and teachers are on the same side, working together to build better schools and focused on doing what’s right for our kids.

How best to deliver that message? Make it personal.

To remind millions of people of the incredible impact that teachers have in our lives, we invited the public to Thank a Teacher for the difference that educators are making—and get the chance to see their message on public billboards and digital ad screens across the province.

It was a brand new way to give people the unique opportunity to get involved and pay tribute to the contributions that teachers have made in all of our lives. We advertised the campaign across social platforms, programmatic digital, and through ETFO’s robust email program. And the response was overwhelming.

On October 5^th—World Teachers’ Day—the campaign went live on thousands of digital billboards and screens. From highway signs on the 401 to screens in theatres, gyms, elevators, and even gas stations, the one-day campaign delivered 14.3 million digital impressions. Watch this highlight reel on our Instagram page.

Plus, here’s the best part. We kept the campaign local, ensuring that messages of thanks appeared to parents and educators at schools in their own communities. And our campaign showed overwhelming support for educators in every region, with local messages of thanks appearing in every one of the province’s school boards—from real people to real teachers.

Bold, personal, and public. This campaign showcased the deep sense of connection and appreciation that parents feel towards educators. And the show of public support—in every corner of the province—helped encourage the government to focus on bargaining.

We’re delighted that this innovative campaign has now been recognized with two awards at the 2024 Reed Awards, honouring the best in campaigns and public issue advertising from across the US and internationally, and a gold award at the Pollie Awards, sponsored by the American Association of Political Consultants and regarded as “the Oscars of political advertising.”

Want to explore how a smart out-of-home strategy can work for your next ad campaign? Give us a call, or send us an email. We’re ready to help.

Authentic. Relatable. And human.

That’s what it takes for public advocacy ad campaigns to create a real connection with your audience—and put real issues in people’s lives at the heart of public debate. And with a clear focus on fixing health care and making life more affordable, that’s exactly how the Manitoba NDP won the 2023 election—and made history with Wab Kinew becoming the first First Nations premier of a Canadian province.

Now, the campaign’s signature ads are being recognized as the Best International Campaign (Sub-National) at the 2024 Reed Awards, the leading advertising competition for campaign and public issue advertising in the US and beyond.

Four signature ads across TV, digital, and social platforms helped the Manitoba NDP deliver a crisp and clear campaign frame that resonated with everyday Manitobans—and showed that fixing health care was the number one priority for people.

Real Reactions featured the faces and voices of real Manitobans, capturing their reaction to the incumbent government’s long list of cuts to health care. And it served as a stark reminder of the impact of those cuts on real families.

And At Any Moment focused on the risk of more cuts and ER closures—in a deeply human and personal way. It asked the audience to think, really think, about the risk of more cuts to health care.

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What We Want for Our Kids opened the campaign with a heartfelt and deeply personal message from Kinew:

What he wants for his own kids, he wants for all Manitobans.

And A Plan for People allowed Kinew to show how his focus on the priorities of Manitoba families inspires his practical plan to make life better for everyday people.

Authentic. Relatable. And human. It’s what makes a message both compelling and effective. And we’re delighted to see these signature ads for the historic Manitoba campaign honoured at the 2024 Reed Awards.

As the weather warms up and days get longer, it’s the perfect time to spring ahead and start planning for summer! And our team has lots of ideas to help your union or non-profit make the most of summer 2024.

One of the “secrets” behind the strength of any organization’s brand is simple. Success starts by making an emotional connection with your audience and winning people’s hearts. It’s as true for unions, non-profits, charities, and public sector organizations as for anything – and anyone – else.

Showing up and showing you care is the first and most important step to building a community of supporters who will hear your message – and help take it further.

How will you win people’s hearts this summer?

You’ve got more platforms and more tactics available for your next campaign than ever before. But this summer, don’t overlook the potential to connect with your audience in one of the friendliest and most neighbourly of ways: By showing up at community events, cultural festivals, art crawls, and all the great summer events that fill the streets of our big cities and small towns all summer long!

Here are just a few ways you can show you care alongside your members—and future supporters—this summer.

Sponsor a Festival

What’s better than going to a party? Try hosting the party! Consider sponsoring one of your community’s favourite summer events. It’s a great way to get noticed and sends a powerful message to every attendee: We share something important in common. Afterall, we both showed up here!

Get Noticed at Street-Level

After months of winter hibernation, spring and summer bring people back onto streets and sidewalks across the country. People are walking more, running more, cycling more—and that creates a great opportunity to get noticed at street-level with fresh billboards, transit shelters, and out-of-home advertising.

And don’t pass up the opportunity for posters, such as wildpostings on busy sidewalks! With striking design and eye-catching messages, you can turn heads and get that all-important second look. It’s also a great way to use gritty, organic, and community-inspired design to build a connection with your audience.

Hop on Transit

Transit ridership continues to rebound across the country, following the pandemic. And there’s good reason to show up on transit this summer. It’s one of the most recognizable public services in people’s lives. And, even if they don’t use transit to get to work, many people will hop on transit to get to summer festivals. Think of the routes people will take and meet people there with eye-catching ads on buses or streetcars—or on your city’s light-rail transit or subway lines.

Pedal Your Message

City bikes offer a fun opportunity for catchy creative. Plus you’re showing your support for cycling infrastructure—and that’s good for everyone’s health and for the environment, too. Plus, we’ve noticed a lot of bonusing on city bike advertising spaces, meaning your creative could stay up longer than you pay for.

Show Up on Screens

Digital ads on mobile devices are a great way to reach people attending a festival or community event. And if people are visiting town for the event, you have an even bigger audience you can reach with a weekend’s worth of digital ads. Plus, digital ads can be an affordable way to dip your toes into festival advertising, without breaking the bank.

Lean In

Want to strike a chord at Folk Fest? Reaching a summer audience is a great opportunity to lean into the event’s theme—with a creative approach that gives people a grin or even a giggle.

Nothing makes your message more memorable than embracing the vibe of the event, wholeheartedly. And our creative team is here to help! We can help you craft a creative approach that shows you love the festival as much as anyone who’s attending. You’re not just there as an advertiser; you’re there as a fan.

The Writing’s on the… Ground?

Think chalk art is just for kids? Think again! Hiring a mural artist to design stunning sidewalk art can be a great way to get noticed by hundreds of festival-goers. And it helps convey an important message about your union or non-profit’s personality: You’re fun, down-to-earth, and not afraid to get your hands dirty.

Feed People!

We all know it. The best way to a person’s heart is… food! From ice cream trucks to lemonade stands, there’s no shortage of great ways to give people something good to eat – and make a memorable connection. Just be prepared to be popular! (Hint: don’t run out.)

Light It Up

Got an evening art crawl or late-night jazz performances in your community? Light up the night with light projections after dark. For several hours each evening, you can be turning heads and getting noticed in an entirely unexpected way.

Excited about summer? Want to explore ideas for how you can show up in your own community? Give us a call, or send us an email. We’d love to help!