Anti-tobacco industry organization De Facto has selected Marketel as its new media agency for its yearly campaign, which this year will focus on cigarette marketing.
The organization met with three firms with one main goal: targeting the 18-24 years old.
“We knew that Marketel had previously worked with Tel-jeunes [a confidential resource for young Quebecers],” said Philippe Jacques, manager of Healthy Living programs at the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec, “and that they were innovative and sensitive to public service. But what we liked is their motivation. They went further than bring numbers and portfolios, they arrived with media creativity examples.”
Marketel worked with the organization on the campaign that launched in late October that features a new spokesperson, actor Réal Bossé. Three spots show him in conversation with his own double about marketing tactics related to cigarettes: flavours, packaging and various tools to make cigarettes look cool.
“Because of the relative complexity of this year’s theme, we are aiming the 18-24. Our goal is also to increase our presence on social media. Before we worked with Marketel, our fan base was around 3,000 on Facebook. It has now increased to 11,800,” said Jacques, who added that cinema, TV and online media will be part of the mix. “We did some stunts in the past, but though it generates lots of media attention, we were not convinced it served us.”
