Who: Pathways to Education Canada, Camp Jefferson, Cossette Media, theVanity (vfx), Pirate Group (sound), Saints Editorial (editing), Scouts Honour (production), The Colony Project (PR), Send and Receive (website).
What: A national awareness campaign, “Build Pathways.” It is the first national campaign for the organization, which is committed to helping students in low-income communities graduate from high school.
When & Where: The campaign broke on Sept. 2 and is running across TV, cinema, social and out-of-home (transit and digital). There is also a media relations campaign to educate people about the issue, as well as a new website, BuildPathways.ca.
Why: Pathways to Education says there are currently 300,000 students in low-income communities nationally who face “significant barriers” to high school graduation.
Failing to achieve a high-school education hurts society as a whole through lost tax revenue and increased expenses around social assistance and health care. Each graduate of the Pathway Programs can lead to as much as $600,000 in lifetime benefit to society, while providing a 1:24 return on investment to society.
How: The campaign is anchored by a VFX-heavy 90-second spot that outlines of all the incredible ways young Canadians will change the world—from solving climate change, to undoing the environmental damage caused by previous generations.
“The future we’ve dreamed of. The future we need. It’s ours,” the voiceover states. “We are going to change the world. But first…we’ve gotta finish high school.”
The out-of-home ads are more grounded in reality, featuring blunt assessments of the socio-economic problems that can stem from failing to graduate high school—not voting in elections, a dependence on social assistance, increased cost to the healthcare system—in the form of written math problems.
And we quote: “‘Build Pathways’ highlights that when we support more students to graduate from high school, we see reduced poverty, stronger communities, and significant economic gains.” —Colleen Ryan, director of marketing and communications, Pathways to Education Canada.
