Following a competitive pitch process involving 20 agencies from across the country, Investors Group has selected DDB Canada as its agency of record.
DDB’s Toronto office will lead the business, collaborating with specialists from DDB Montreal and Tribal Worldwide – Toronto. Investors Group’s former agency was Y&R.
One of four agencies that made the shortlist, DDB learned it had won the business in August and is currently working on a brand strengthening initiative for the financial services company. That work, which will include a significant digital component, is expected to hit the market in the second quarter of 2015.
Though Investors Group has been around for 88 years, not all Canadians are fully aware of the breadth of its services, said Michael Davidson, senior vice-president, business unit director, DDB Canada. As a result, the agency is tasked with crafting a brand positioning campaign.
“People have heard of them but don’t really know what they do and the value they bring,” Davidson said. “The first thing will be to make sure that people truly understand what it is they do. It’s unique from the banks. It’s complete, personalized financial planning advice versus investment advice.”
DDB has worked in the financial services space in the past, (it handled Manulife Financial for nearly five years) experience that played a big part in winning the account, said Davidson.
“We have a strategic approach. I think we gave them some good insight into their business that was relevant so they understood that we got it, and how we would approach it and get to the new positioning,” he said.
