2016 Winners
SILVER: Best Niche Targeting
SILVER: AToMiC Shift
Mount Pleasant Group - Quitbit
Mount Pleasant Group is a historic cemetery and funeral services company in the Greater Toronto Area that was challenged with long sales cycles (10+ years) for a product that no one really wants to buy. UNION saw an opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to a category that is typically static and uninspired. By reaching a new, younger consumer target and tapping into the current trends of fitness and technology, we got them to think about their end-of-life plans, and those of their parents.
As we thought about the brief through the lens of today's culture, we were inspired by current trends in fitness and wearable technology. What if we created a fictional device designed to alleviate the need to think about funeral planning? If there were a device that could take all of that unnecessary obsessing away, funeral planning would be simple and not something people would have to give much thought to.
So, we created an online video to introduce "Quitbit" – a watch that uses a sophisticated algorithm to measure how long you have left to live. Launched in August 2015, the video was intended as a misdirect and was filmed in such a way that the viewer might believe the product actually exists. We supported this shareable content with its own landing page (with an "order now" button!) as well as wild postings throughout the Toronto area.
Although the product itself was a hoax, the campaign reminded people that death might never be something we can predict, and started a conversation about the importance of pre-planning.
Media mix was carefully considered to target a younger, more tech-savvy audience. Native advertising on popular sites such as Reddit drove volumes of traffic to the microsite that promoted it as a legitimate product.
We also used programmatic buying to locate and serve digital ads to our target in places where they were planning/researching related topics, such as financial planning.
CREDITS
Advertising Agency: UNION, Toronto, Canada
Executive Creative Director: Lance Martin
Associate Creative Director / Art Director: Glen D'Souza
Associate Creative Director / Copywriter: Mike Takasaki
Executive Director of Innovation: Mike Kasprow
Director of Integrated Production: Jen Dark
Integrated Producer: Gregg Vertes
Web Developer: Jordan Shaw
Web Developer: Keshav Vohra
VFX & Animation: Adrian Stiegler
Quality Assurance Technologist: Josh Roque
Director/Editor: Kyle Trotter
Director of Photography: Adam Crosby
Audio Production: Keen Music
Audio Director: Thomas Neuspiel
Quit Bit
Advertising Agency: UNION, Toronto Canada
Executive Creative Director: Lance Martin
Associate Creative Directors: Glen D'Souza, Mike Takasaki
Art Director: Glen D'Souza
Copywriter: Sean Butler
Designers: Emmanuel Obayemi, Matt Stubbings, Adrian Stiegler
Agency Producers: Grace Lee, Julie Riley, Gregg Vertes
Group Account Director: Vikki Thorpe
Account Supervisor: Andre Riolo
Planners: Melissa Boyd, Michelle Campbell
Director of User Experience: Eric Sorensen
Front-End Developer: Brock Beldham
Back-End Developer: Keshav Vohra
Quality Assurance Technologist: Jeffrey de Asis
Production Company: Steam Films
Director: Matt Atkinson
Director of Photography: Brendan Steacy
Line Producer: Christopher Sherk
Editor: Aaron Dark / School Editing
Post Production: Naveen Srivastava, The Vanity
Colourist: Andrew Exworth, The Vanity
Sound Design/Music: Thomas Neuspiel, Keen Music
Best Buy Stunt
Agency: UNION, Toronto, Canada
Executive Creative Director: Lance Martin
Art Director: Ryan McNeil
Copywriter: Alex Scott
Producer: Jen Dark
Account Manager: Emily Goldberg
Account Director: Ravi Singh
Group Account Director: Kimberlee Welch
Editor: Kyle Trotter
Executive Producer: Jen Dark
Transfer / Colourist: Adrian Stiegler
Cinematographer DOP: Adam Crosby
"Someone Else's Kid"
Executive Creative Director: Lance Martin
Creative Director (Montreal): Martin Belanger
Associate Creative Director/Copywriter: Rica Eckersley
Associate Creative Director/Art Director: Adam Thur
Art Director/Animation: Adrian Stiegler
Group Account Director: Victoria Thorpe
Account Director: Ravi Singh
Account Manager: Emily Goldberg
Strategy: Keefe Lee
User Experience: Eric Sorenson
VP, Integrated Production: Jen Dark
Integrated Producer: Grace Lee, Lisa Fournier
Studio Artists/retouchers: William Leung, Mike Nitsopolous, Mazen Mansour
Production Company: Spy Films
Director: Jonathan Bensimon
Executive Producer: Marni Luftspring
Line Producer: Scott Houghton
Post-Production: Panic & Bob Editing
Editors: David Baxter and Mariam Fahmy
Colourist: Billy Ferwerda
Music: BoomBox Sound (Toronto), Studio Z (Montreal)
Audio Director and Music Supervisor: Stephanie Pigott
Phone Block
Agency: UNION, Toronto, Canada
Executive Creative Director: Lance Martin
Associate Creative Director/Art Director: Adam Thur
Associate Creative Director/Copywriter: Rica Eckersley
Agency Producer: Jen Dark
Group Account Director: Cheryl Gosling
Account Coordinator: Emily Goldberg
Director of Technology: Mike Kasprow
Strategic Brand Planner: Melissa Boyd
Director/Editor: Kyle Trotter
PM and AD: Elli Weisbaum and Aaron Nadal
DOP: Adam Crosby
Camera Operator: Rob Walsh