2020 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Objectives & Challenge:
Interac is one of Canada’s most recognizable brands in the business-to-business payment sector. It’s had an unquestioned role in all transactional businesses, big or small. Recently, technology has created entirely new platforms and payment systems, and merchants have been bombarded by new options.

That created the opportunity to reframe Interac’s offering for small business. Interac offers a suite of services specifically developed for this niche audience yet many small businesses are unaware of these options. The challenge was to shift perceptions from Interac as a payment brand to Interac as an innovative technology partner.

Insight and Strategy
When it comes to business advice, entrepreneurs trust other entrepreneurs.

The insight emerged from meetings with small business owners, research and interviews with consultants to the small business industry. We learned small business owners want to hear from other entrepreneurs because they’re the only people who truly understand their needs, realities and dreams.

With that in mind, the campaign needed to speak to entrepreneurs in their own language, and ideally through their peers. The question became how to do that in a way that would earn attention from an audience with little time to spend on anything other than growing their business. The answer: a small business masterclass for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs.

Execution
The idea came to life as a branded podcast called Earning Curve that positioned Interac to demonstrate relevance through thought leadership. A podcast provided value that traditional advertising never could by sharing real and insightful business stories in an approachable, easily digested format.

Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Michele Romanow, a high-profile tech leader, hosted the podcast. In each episode, start-up owners engaged with proven business leaders to explore how to overcome the obstacles that get in the way of success. Across six episodes, the diversity and regionality of Canadian business was represented. Mid-roll placements highlighted Interac’s products, services and history. Episodes concluded with a summary of learnings the audience could implement within their own businesses.

Results
Earning Curve’s content-driven approach made the path to purchase smoother by delivering on the ambitions to position Interac as a thought leader.

Brand equity scores showed strong improvement: 90% of listeners felt Interac understood the needs of small business, 85% felt that the show was unique and represented the issues small businesses face and 80% found it relevant and helpful, and felt Interac was a leader in Canadian business.

More than 52,000 people listened to an episode. Average listening time was 24 minutes, indicating audience stayed well past Interac’s mid-roll message placements.

Customer behaviour was measurably affected by the campaign. The Interac Business Solutions website had over 10,000 unique sessions during the campaign, 80% above usual monthly traffic.

Lastly, Apple named Earning Curve to its “Best of 2018” list of podcasts – the only branded podcast to make the list – a great indication Interac made the leap from traditional advertising to content its audience wanted to consume.

Credits

AGENCY: Zulu Alpha Kilo
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Zak Mroueh
CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Gail Pak, Irfan Khan
ART DIRECTOR: Michael Romaniuk
WRITER: Patrick Godin
DIGITAL PRODUCER: Nadaa Baqui
STUDIO DIRECTOR: Greg Heptinstal
ACCOUNT TEAM: Robyn Morrissey, Erin McManus
GROUP STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Heather Segal
BRAND INNOVATION DIRECTOR: Sean Bell
ACCOUNT TEAM: Robyn Morrissey, Erin McManus
GROUP STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Heather Segal
BRAND INNOVATION DIRECTOR: Sean Bell
MEDIA AGENCY: Media Experts
MEDIA AGENCY PLANNER: Richard Ivey
CLIENT (COMPANY): Interac Association
CLIENTS: Andrea Danovitch, Olivia Akins, Lauren McKay
PRODUCTION HOUSE: Gimlet Creative/Transmitter Media
POST PRODUCTION: Zulubot
EDITOR: Jarvis Alston