Who: Coast Capital, with Cossette for creative and media from Cossette Media.
What: “We’re for real,” a new platform for the B.C. brand’s strategic positioning of helping everyday Canadians reduce debt and grow their income. It is Cossette’s first campaign for the financial services brand since winning the business last year.
When & Where: The campaign launched Monday (Aug. 9), running in B.C. across TV (a 60-second hero spot and 15s), radio, out-of-home, social and digital display.
Why: The campaign is about demonstrating Coast Capital’s ability to help its more than 600,000 members achieve financial “dreams” that are actually attainable—with the right financial services partner, of course.
“We’ve all been sold some pretty lofty dreams—exotic vacations, a holiday home, a luxury car—but what we’ve found is that the dreams of everyday Canadians are far more practical,” said vice-president of marketing, Andrew Rusk. “At Coast, we believe dreams about saving more, getting out of debt, starting a business, or having a little left over at the end of the month, aren’t dreams—they’re achievable and should be within everyone’s reach.”
How: The word “real” is serving a dual purpose here: Real as in helping members achieve financial “dreams” that are reachable, but also demonstrating that as the country’s largest credit union by membership, Coast Capital is poised to help them achieve those goals.
The 60-second hero spot features real Canadians living their everyday life, while a voiceover talks about how dreams should be “big” and “fulfilling,” but that Canadians have financial goals that shouldn’t be dreams at all—such as being able to afford a house, repair their car, or have some money left over at the end of the month.
The goal with using real people in the ads is for viewers to see themselves, said Cossette’s creative director, Jacob Greer. “We cast real people in these spots and created a look that was both gritty and beautiful, realistic and optimistic, because that’s the truest reflection of real life,” he said. “It can be tough, but with the right support and perspective you can get on track to where you want to be.”
And we quote: “Over our 80-year history we’ve built incredible loyalty with our members. Looking to the future, our strategy is driven by an unwavering desire to build better futures for our members, employees, and communities as a proud B-Corp and social purpose company.” — Catherine Wood, chief strategy, product and marketing officer, Coast Capital
