Jennifer HornMedia in Canada January 11, 2012

Apparently, the adage of “less is more” really speaks to the execs at Canadian Direct Insurance.

Therein lies the reason behind the brand jumping on the idea of having the advertising pitch process portrayed in a series of new commercials for its simple, to-the-point tagline of “Say Yes To Savings.”

In three new spots, the ad guys at Noise (a Vancouver-based agency that handled both the media and creative) make fun of themselves and the industry they work in by portraying what turns out to be a disaster pitch. While the two creatives work their hearts out to present a flashy campaign, the insurance exec doesn’t budge, requesting that they “just keep it simple” and to show how the insurance company can help people save money. The ask falls on deaf ears with the ad men churning out ideas of a cyborg and a rollerblading kitten with chiseled abs as its next spokesperson.

The spots are in fact a play on a real-life situation that happened a year ago, when the president of the company jokingly asked a Noise creative and account director what kind of “out-there” idea they were going to pitch next, Trevor Carr, president and CEO, Noise tells MiC.

Read Media in Canada's full story here.

Eve LazarusJanuary 10, 2012 Marketing Magazine

Michael Milardo, creative director at Noise Digital, was waiting to unveil a presentation to client Canadian Direct Insurance when its chairman walked by and asked why they couldn’t just say the company saved people money instead of wrecking cash with flame throwers, chainsaws and graters (i.e. the concept of the last campaign).

The idea became the basis of three television ads that launched this month in a campaign called “Say yes to savings.”

Read the rest of Marketing magazine's story here.

September 23, 2010By Eve Lazarus

Vancouver-based Central 1, the trade association for B.C. and Ontario credit unions, has launched a $2.5 million marketing campaign in B.C. aimed at youth.

The "Be Remarkable" campaign includes an online media buy, guerrilla marketing, and a tent pole Facebook application all created by Noise Digital of Vancouver.

Noise Digital came up with the idea to ask Facebook users to help distribute $100,000 to local charities on Central 1's behalf. Each time program participants tag themselves or their friends in a Facebook photo in their region, $1 goes to a charity in that region. So far, more than 63,000 tags have been generated and the page has more than 22,000 "likes."

Noise Digital also had two ATMs placed on university campuses that, instead of dispensing money, played video games. The idea, said Reed, is to show that banks are not the only option for students.

The online and guerrilla work is supported by television ads from Wasserman + Partners Advertising.

Martin Reed, director of marketing and creative services at Central 1, said the year-long campaign targets 18- to 29-year olds and aims to differentiate credit unions from banks through their values.

While that age demographic makes up 27% of B.C.'s population, it accounts for only 8% of credit union members, he said. "We need to attract some youth."

Reed said research shows the values credit unions want to project–honesty, integrity, trust and loyalty–match those of younger people, as does their interest in community and local initiatives.

"We found that there is a lack of awareness of what credit unions are about and how they can match up with what youth are trying to achieve," he said, adding that youth tend to bank where their parents bank.

Media in Canadaby Craig MacBride

Central 1, the organization representing credit unions in BC and Ontario, is going to school.

Spanning TV, social media and on-campus OOH, the "Be Remarkable" campaign targets 18- to 29-year-olds with the goal of explaining the difference between credit unions and banks, Martin Reed, director of marketing and creative services, Central 1, tells MiC.

"Most people this age don't know how credit unions are different," he explains. "This shows how we [as an organization] align with the values of people this age."

In BC, the on-campus OOH includes banners and bathroom stall ads at universities and colleges across the province, as well as fake promotional ATMs at Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia. Designed to look like typical ATMs from a distance, up close they are revealed to be video consoles, complete with joystick and retro games such as Donkey Kong, Frogger, and Pac-Man.

The ads and the machines, which will be on-campus until mid-October, drive students to the microsite BeRemarkable.com, where humorous stop-motion videos talk up the benefits of credit unions. One of the main messages of the videos is that credit unions have "members," not customers and as such, are more community-minded and less profit-oriented than the big banks.

In their first campaign for Central 1, Vancouver-based Noise handled the OOH and online creative, as well as the online media plan and buy. The online strategy includes Google, Gorilla Nation, Olive Media, and Rouge Media online networks, as well as inventory on Sympatico.ca and via Microsoft Messenger. Video pre-roll and rich media banners were also placed on Break Media, Tremor Media and Tribal Fusion networks.

Vancouver-based Wasserman and Partners created the television ads, which are airing around Glee, The Simpsons, The Office, So You Think You Can Dance (US and Canadian versions), Hockey Night in Canada, and Grey's Anatomy. The ads will run, with a break over the Christmas holidays, until April 2011.

There is also a charitable focus to the campaign, harnessing the power of Facebook to allow anyone to tag their friends on the Central 1 page. With each friend a person tags, the credit unions donate $1 to a charity in the tagger's region.

To date, there have been 63,000 tags from across BC. The Facebook campaign continues until the $100,000 is used up.