As part of its 100th birthday promotional campaign, the Vancouver Sun is publishing a special commemorative edition of the paper full of archival photos and including behind-the-scenes stories.
The creative and media are handled by Vancouver-based Goat Farm. The tagline is “Times Change. Trusted News Doesn’t.”
The black and white photos pulled from Vancouver Sun archives includes a 1957 appearance by Elvis Presley, a 1915 photo of the Vancouver Millionaires hockey team and 1912 fashion.
“When you look at a news organization’s archives, you realize that yes, they provide news, but also what they’re doing every single day is preserving history,” said Dan Nelken, Goat Farm’s creative director. “Those two insights are what led to the core campaign ideas.”
Patricia Wu, marketing manager for the Vancouver Sun, said that as well as the “historic keepsake” edition, the Sun will soon launch a television, radio, billboard, print and point-of-sale campaign alongside a dedicated centenary microsite.
Other initiatives include a 100th anniversary book to be published by Douglas & McIntyre in the fall and a columnist-themed contest where the winner will go undercover with the Sun’s restaurant critic. Other contests include attending a concert with the Sun’s music critic and winning a home garden consultation and shopping spree with its gardening expert.
The paper also partnered with JJ Bean to produce specially branded coffee packages. “What goes better with the newspaper than coffee?” said Wu. “JJ Bean is very grassroots, they are strictly in Vancouver and the owner is a long-time Vancouver Sun subscriber.”
For every bag of coffee sold, $1 will go to the Sun’s Raise-A-Reader program and another $1 to Room to Read, a program that supports literacy in third world nations, she said.
The target market for the campaign is 35- to 64-year olds.
