The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has produced a series of online videos called “Tip Clips” as part of a consumer alert that urges Canadians to be careful about giving their personal and financial information over the telephone or online.
The 20-second videos launched three weeks ago on YouTube and can also be viewed on the FCAC’s homepage. One video titled “Credit Report – Free By Mail” features young adults because “they likely have a credit report – and may not know it,” Julie Hauser, media relations officer at FCAC, told Marketing.
FCAC hopes this clip will help consumers learn more about credit reports, what’s in them and how they can see their own for free, she said.
While the message of a second video applies to Canadians of all ages, it features older adults to help demonstrate how “easy it is to protect yourself at any age,” said Hauser.
While the spots will run as PSAs in certain markets, FCAC is relying on social media sites such as YouTube and Twitter to spread the word.
“As a smaller government agency with limited financial resources, traditional media placements are not always an option for us,” said Hauser. Because of this, the agency is always looking at innovative ways to get its message across, she said.
“We created these ‘Tip Clips’ for use in social media channels, offering them to other agencies and organizations, and also for use by bloggers and others who post online information.
“We have been adding a link to the clips to our traditional and social media releases so that there is an extra visual element for media outlets to use,” she said.
The FCAC will launch additional “Tip Clips” throughout the year. Each will address a different financial issue, said Hauser.
Hyperactive Productions produced the videos. The Ottawa-based multimedia and video production company was chosen through a request for proposal overseen by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).
