National consumer campaign promotes variety of media company’s channels
Astral’s new national consumer ad campaign focuses on building awareness, particularly in English Canada, as well as boosting the company’s highly diverse programming and entertainment brands. But it does so with a twist. The new creative slate, with the strapline “Switch off the ordinary,” gives new meaning to “character building”.” In the blink of an eye, Grandma transforms into a Lady Gaga-esque pop star that goes on tour; and mechanics turn into sophisticated fashion critics.
Derev Antikacioglu, corporate marketing director at Astral, said a key objective for this campaign was emphasizing the connection between consumers’ needs and Astral’s programming – a “something for everyone” approach.
“You can listen to Top 40 music during your morning drive, watch a premium HBO series, view a movie on Movie Network and have your pre-schoolers enjoy a Disney flick – all in the same day. Our consumers grow with our properties from one stage of life to the next. The idea is to keep people in the Astral family,” Antikacioglu explained.
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Much of the campaign was built in-house at Astral Radio and Astral Digital, but Montreal agency BCP – in its first collaboration with Astral – contributed creative for TV and out of home, and overall campaign messaging.
“We wanted to demonstrate the strength of Astral’s major properties that allow you to experience a wide variety of emotions and adventures,” said Jonathan Rouxel, BCP co-creative and art director. “TV [ad] characters, for instance, ‘explode out of their everyday shell’ because a particular channel has inspired them to experience new things. Grandmother becomes a pop star because she’s influenced by Astral’s music TV or radio content. The mechanic spot was influenced by Astral’s lifestyle properties like Canal Vie.”
The campaign launches today with a second phase coming in early 2012. Phase two “will feature cross-promotion, with program recommendations to the tune of, ‘If you’re watching Canal Vie, perhaps you’d be interested in knowing that there are other type of programming that fall within your area of interest,’” stated Hugues Mousseau, director, corporate communications and synergies at Astral. “Cross-talk and cross-promotion are extremely important to us.”
