Who: Insurance company Definity, with Mackie Biernacki for strategy and creative; Cairns Oneil for media.

What: “In it For Good,” a new umbrella brand campaign for the Waterloo, Ont.-based company, which operates a family of insurance brands including Sonnet, Economical, Family and Petline.

When & Where: The campaign is in market now, running in both English and French across programmatic display; video and audio; newspaper; digital out of home; elevator screens; and digital walls. The media buy from Cairns Oneil serves a dual purpose, with consumer-focused ads running across out-of-home/TSAs print and digital, and targeted digital, LinkedIn and social ads driving employee recruitment efforts.

Why: It is Definity’s first major campaign since raising $1.4 billion in Canada’s largest IPO of 2021.

While Definity brands like Sonnet are already active consumer marketers, this campaign is aimed largely at the financial community, as well as brokers who might be considering  the company for future employment. Finally, it’s also intended as an articulation of the company’s brand purpose for existing employees.

“We’re in it For Good,” is intended as a two-fold statement of intent, said Mackie Biernacki president Matt Cammaert: It’s signalling that Definity is not only in the insurance business for the long haul, but is also deeply committed to doing good for its customers and the broader community, as well as its employees and business partners.

The company currently supports more than 550 local charities, provides employees with “Definity Days” off work, so they can actively engage in a community initiative of their choice, and says it was among the first companies on the ground during the devastating B.C. wildfires.

“Potential employees don’t want to feel like they’re a cog in the wheel,” said Cammaert. “They want a seat at the table where their talents and suggestions to make insurance better can come to life. Much like consumers, they want to feel good about their insurance company.”

How: The creative is designed to combat the perception of insurance being what Cammaert described as a “grudge purchase,” particularly as the advent of tech has made the industry feel less personal and erased some of the human connection.

A 75-second anchor spot quite literally takes a broad view of the world, zooming out from a single person to show earth spinning in space, before providing a birds-eye view of some the communities and constituencies Definity serves.

It then zooms back in on specific individuals served by its array of insurance brands, such as a new homeowner, a motorist who’s feeling vulnerable after a fender-bender, and presenting itself as “the ever-important saviour” of beloved pets, with a voiceover informing audiences of its intention to make insurance itself better.

That’s followed by static shots of Definity employees and urging them to make the company aware of any compelling customers stories and charities/causes they’d like it to support. “Insurance isn’t just insurance,” says the closing voiceover. “We’re in it for good.”

Two other 15-second spots, as well as print executions, show how Definity and its employees are bringing the “In it For Good” brand positioning to life, from using drones to get a better sense of customers affected by flooding, to an employee volunteering to serve breakfast at a local school to an employee who cut off his long locks to support the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta.

And we quote: “This campaign continues to reinforce our promise of making insurance better. Our dedicated employees across Canada bring our promise to life every day by helping our clients and communities adapt and thrive, and what better way to reflect what we stand for than to share our pride through their stories.” — David Bradfield, VP integrated marketing and communication, Definity