The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is reminding Ontarians that it’s more than lotteries and games with “All For Here,” a campaign designed to highlight all the ways OLG revenue is funneled back into the province.
Also intended to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Wintario, the campaign was developed by the OLG’s creative agency, Toronto-based shop The Hive, and launched May 18 with a gatefold takeover of the front page of the Toronto Star, along with an online takeover of the Weather Network homepage.
A TV spot, titled “Pass it On” is also currently airing across Ontario. Anchored in OLG’s presenting sponsorship of the Pan Am Torch Relay (which will see the torch visit 130 Ontario communities before the event concludes in early July) the ad highlights the places where OLG funding has been, and continues to be, put to work, such as schools, hospitals, food banks and libraries.
The online version concludes with links to seven online videos, which feature actual organizations and people that have been touched by OLG dollars, like the Sudbury Food Bank and the White Oaks Skate Park. Two athletes who have been supported by OLG’s Quest For Gold Program, Rosie MacLennan and Zsofia Balazs, also have their stories told.
“We don’t tell those stories enough, I think,” said Jeff Corcoran, executive director of marketing at OLG. “Obviously we sell tickets and offer gaming experiences, but there is a big desire for people to understand where the money goes and that really helps our transparency. It shows and demonstrates our commitment to the province of Ontario.”
The OLG generates two billion annually, Corcoran said, and 75% of those proceeds are allocated directly to hospitals and health care. The rest goes to things like infrastructure, community music festivals and amateur sports. Since 1975, the OLG has provided nearly $40 billion to the province and people of Ontario.
According to Corcoran, most Canadians under 35 don’t really know where the money goes, or what the OLG’s purpose is, as opposed to 40 years ago, when the Wintario draw was a highly anticipated weekly event.
“I think people have lost sight of what OLG as an organization is and what it stood for,” said Trent Fulton, partner and managing director at The Hive. “The phrase we used often coming out of research was ‘we’ve KFC’d ourselves’ just by calling it OLG and not actually having the word Ontario present in the identity, people kind of forgot that this is for Ontario, this is for here, where we all live”
The Hive worked with Toronto-based design firm Jacknife to develop a variety of “All For Here” badges, designed to be incorporated into the visual identity of the corporation. There’s alternate badges depending on the application; All For Healthcare, All For Amateur Sport, All For Education, along with community badges, such as All For Sudbury, which highlight individual communities who have benefited from OLG funds.
Additional elements of the campaign include digital, social and POS. “All For Here” is slated to run until mid-August.
Zenith Optimedia handled media planning and buying, while National Public Relations managed PR. Trojan One is responsible for the activation of the Pam Am Torch Relay Tour.
