|
|
|
As part of its ongoing sponsorship of CBC Television’s Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC), Scotiabank has developed a series of TV spots running throughout the Stanley Cup Finals that reflect the previous game’s outcome.
Viewers are flocking to HNIC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals hoping to witness the Vancouver Canucks become the first Canadian-based team since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 to win the NHL championship.
The spots from Toronto agency Bensimon Byrne are running during the first period of each HNIC telecast. They consist of a series of printed messages in Scotiabank’s signature multi-coloured type over a background that resembles an ice surface, all accompanied by crowd chanting.
Following the Boston Bruins’ 8-1 win over the Canucks in last night’s game, for example, a 15-second ad airing tomorrow reads “You know what’s great about the Stanley Cup Final? It’s a best of seven.” Each spot positions Scotiabank as “Canada’s hockey bank.”
“The driving force was that we needed to be out there in a relevant way,” said Jim Tobin, director and head of sponsorships for Scotiabank in Toronto. “We have a mandate to respond to immediate situations, so this was a great opportunity.”
Tobin said the “cheap and cheerful” campaign had its origins in a May 24 discussion between the bank and its longtime agency, with the details finally nailed down about four days later.
According to Tobin, the bank’s brief to the agency indicated that the spots needed to include humour, empathy for Canadian hockey fans eager to see the Cup return to Canada after an 18-year absence, as well as meet any legal requirements around the use of NHL marks – all on an accelerated timeline.
“Coming up with a usable message was quite a challenge,” said Tobin.
In the end, Bensimon Byrne developed a series of four 15-second spots and two 30-second ads, one of which will never air depending on which team wins the Stanley Cup.
“We’ve positioned ourselves as Canada’s hockey bank, so it was really important not to go dark during the playoffs,” said Tobin, who noted that production costs for the new spots were about a quarter of those for a standard TV campaign. “We wanted to develop a message that showed we’re behind the excitement and the promise of the playoffs and Stanley Cup as much as any Canadian.”
Media for the campaign was handled by PHD Canada.
Scotiabank’s HNIC sponsorship runs through 2013.
