Strong results from last year brings back the sweater drive
There’s still plenty of life left in these grannies. As part of National Sweater Day on Feb. 7, World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF) has introduced the “Granny Call Centre 82.0,” an update of last year’s successful program developed by Toronto agency John St.
Now in its third year, National Sweater Day urges Canadians to turn down their thermostat and wear a sweater for one day in an effort to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to WWF, if every Canadian lowered their thermostat by just two degrees Celsius this winter, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by four megatons.
The “Granny Call Centre” program invites Canadians to visit SweaterDay.ca and register to receive a call, text or email from a granny on Feb. 7 reminding them to don a sweater and turn down the heat. This year’s event also enables participants to choose from one of four types of grannies, ranging from “Sweet” and “Doting” to “Cranky” and “Guilt-tripping,” to deliver the message.
Last year’s initiative generated approximately 33 million media impressions through a combination of social media interaction and coverage on networks like Global and CTV, while more than 1.2 million Canadians donned sweaters on the day itself – almost triple the number of the program’s first year.
“There’s a certain charm to it and it’s not really a trend – everybody loves their granny,” said John St. co-creative director Stephen Jurisic. “A lot of advertising agencies like to say ‘Let’s do something new,’ but we just started last year and I we realized that it’s got a lot of momentum.”
John St. has also introduced a “Granny recruitment” component to this year’s program, using a radio ad to invite people to nominate their own granny to deliver a message to Canadians.
Prospective grannies are invited to call a dedicated “granny recruitment line” and leave a message convincing Canadians to wear a sweater. The best grannies will be featured on WWF’s Facebook page and be selected to deliver the message on Feb. 7.
The program is being promoted through SweaterDay.ca and WWF’s Twitter and Facebook accounts – where it has a combined 110,000 followers – as well as the organization’s “Panda Mail” mailing list.
