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H&R Block thinks taxes are a pain in the ass, and wants consumers to come to them for the cure.
With tax return season just around the corner, H&R Block is positioning itself as a cure for this particular malady in a new integrated campaign developed by Toronto’s Due North Communications.
The campaign is catering to two specific groups: those like students and young families who file their taxes early to get money fast, and procrastinators who want their return prepared quickly because they’re running out of time.
“[Preparing a tax return] is a grudge chore,” said Karen Howe, senior vice-president, creative director at Due North, which has worked with H&R Block since 2004. “It’s one of those things that we consider a pain in the ass. That’s really where the campaign sprung from, knowing that’s how we all feel.”
In one of two 30-second TV spots, “Doctor,” a young man in a hospital gown anxiously reveals to his doctor that he has a pain in his lower body. The doctor takes a cursory look and diagnoses him with “tax pain – nothing I can do about that,” before exiting the examination room.
The TV is being supported by three tactical radio ads promoting specific H&R Block products such as instant cash back. The ads, which run through April, are presented as testimonials in which H&R Block customers reveal how the company helped eliminate their tax pain.
A direct mail execution features an envelope with the words “tax $tuff” written on the front, inviting recipients to put all of the appropriate documents inside before bringing it in to H&R Block to prepare their tax return.
The campaign also features an extensive on-campus component comprised of backlit ads as well as ads in campus newspapers. “We find that it really cements a relationship with our target group early in their life,” said Howe of the campus advertising.
The French-language campaign, meanwhile, focuses on Quebecers’ preference for dealing with the appropriate specialist (the bakery for bread, a butcher for meat etc.). The campaign positions H&R Block as the tax return specialist.
“I think there’s a really healthy irreverence to it,” said Howe of the campaign. “It’s self-deprecating and I love the honesty of it.
“We’re awash in financial advertising right now, for RRSPs et cetera, and I think it really stands head and shoulders above all those things because it has an honesty to it, which we don’t see nearly often enough.”
