2021 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Objective & Challenge

For 100 years the Royal Canadian Legion has run a fundraising program called “The Poppy Appeal” which benefits Canadian war veterans and their families. Each year, hundreds of war veterans and volunteers (many of whom are seniors) flock to high traffic locations such as shopping centres and government buildings to hand out lapel pin poppies as an act of Remembrance in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day (November 11).

The image of a Legion member holding a poppy box on a street corner is a fixture in the minds of Canadians and part of our National Identity. These poppies are traditionally pinned on to the jackets of Canadians in exchange for a cash donation. This year, the global pandemic meant that the most vulnerable citizens of our society (the elderly) could not be put in harm’s way and would not be asked to take part in the donation drive as they had in previous years. For the first time in 100 years, veterans would not be handing out poppies.

To make matters worse, unattended cash donation boxes in the past had often been the target of thieves. This combined with the realization that fewer and fewer Canadians carry cash with them meant that the tradition of wearing a poppy and the funds needed to support veterans was going to be severely impacted this year.

Insights & Strategy

As an international Bank HSBC Canada knew the importance of maintaining traditions and felt compelled to do something about it. As a leader in financial services they also knew that if a frictionless and safe donation solution could be found, Canadians and their generosity would surely show up to support this important cause.

However, high touch surfaces such as point of sale terminals and currency, were seen as unsafe due to the ongoing global pandemic and possibly a source of contracting Covid-19. So a truly contactless solution was necessary. At the same time, without the presence of a legion member, veteran or volunteer present to create the emotional connection to the sacrifice of veterans, there was a concern that the importance of the cause might be lost.

Execution

Working with an all-Canadian team of payment solutions partners, fabricators, technology providers and designers, we created the “Pay Tribute” Poppy box. The first cashless, contactless
and wireless poppy donation box which accepted a $2 donation with the tap of a debit, credit or smartphone.

For the physical design of the box, our aim was to pay tribute to the sacrifices of our veterans by incorporating symbols of military monuments into the box design. The rows of poppies inspired by the famous poem “Flanders Fields” was a departure from the traditional single container to house the poppies. A Canadian military gravestone inspired the backing of the box which doubles as a lid for shipping and storage. And finally, the inscription on the tombstone lid was inspired by the military cenotaph in Halifax.

Light and sound played a significant role in communicating the status of the tap donation. A glowing poppy was added as an eye-catching element to draw people’s attention in a retail environment where a volunteer or veteran previously performed this role. The backlit poppy would turn green when a donation was made and an audible beep could be heard confirming that payment went through.

Results

The first year has been so successful that HSBC and the Royal Canadian Legion have embarked on a long-term partnership to extend the scale of the program in the following years to come. In the first year alone, the new boxes generated tens of thousands of new poppy donors.

The redesigned iconic poppy boxes caught the attention of national media as well, generating over 1,400 news articles with a reach of over 232 million media impressions valued at over 11 million dollars. The boxes have been commented on and shared by municipal and federal government officials including the mayor of Toronto, John Tory as well as the minister of defence, Harjit Sajjan and Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.

Credits

Agency: Wunderman Thompson Canada
VP, Executive Creative Director: Ari Elkouby
Creative Director: Brigitte Ledermann
Design Director: Mike Butler
Copywriter: Tim Das, Sébastien Dupras-Rhéaume
Art Director: Lily Coyle
Strategist: Stephanie Gyles
Strategist: Arielle Peters
Business Director: Scott Miskie
Account Director: Mike Davidson, Chitty Krishnappa
Senior Project Manager: Roman Swietlik
Digital Project Coordinator: Mitchell Brennan
Project Manager: Alexa Legge
Associate head of integrated content & broadcast: Jennifer Cotton
Team Lead, Senior Production Artist: Patrick Conway, Sherri ODonnell
Print producer: Kim Fijan
Proofreader: Jocelyn Paris
Editor: John Collucci
Post producer: Christine Tsao
Production Coordinator: Madison Paquin
Retoucher / Prepress: Andy Smits
Producer: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
Production Company: The Faculty
Director: Daniel Kelley
Audio: Pirate
Manufacturing Company: Agile Manufacturing Inc.
Technology Company: Avrio Solutions Inc.
PR: Hill+Knowlton Strategies

HSBC Clients

AVP Marketing – Lending, Deposits & Cards | RBWM Marketing Canada: Chris Lee
Marketing - Credit Cards & Unsecured Lending at HSBC Bank Canada: Pablo Velez Castro
EVP and Head of Retail Banking & Wealth Management, HSBC Canada: Larry Tomei

Legion Clients
National Program Officer: Freeman D. Chute,
Head of Marketing & Communications: Dion Edmonds
Senior Program Officer: Lia Taha Cheng