Spring is a medium

Rob Young is a founding partner and senior vice-president, planning and research at Toronto-based Harrison, Young, Pesonen & Newell, one of Canada’s largest media management operations.

Every once in a while, I find myself experiencing a "media moment."

By "media moment" I mean an occasion when an advertising message interacts so well with a particular medium that it produces a greater impact than if the advertiser had used any other vehicle. Such moments are so rare that they catch seasoned ad veterans, like me, off guard. After all, I’ve spent years cultivating my reputation as a jaded media professional – someone who’s just about impervious to the power of advertising.

When a media moment strikes, I find myself unwittingly playing the role of a consumer – getting nailed by an ad message, linking up with a brand, and then thinking to myself:"Boy, that was good."

So let me tell you about my most recent media moment.

I was walking west along Bloor Street in Toronto to a client meeting on Monday, March 20. I remember the date because it was the first day of spring. The air was soft and the weather was mild – it was great to be outside.

I stopped briefly in front of the Hudson’s Bay Centre at the intersection of Bloor and Yonge and watched a chalk artist at work. She had sketched a red tulip on a white background and she was working up a headline that read "Sayonara, S…" She wasn’t quite finished, so I couldn’t make it out. "Crazy kid," I thought, and off I went to my meeting.

At noon, the meeting was over and I headed back to the office. It was now even milder. The sun was trying to break through the clouds. Spring had definitely arrived. God, it was great to be outside!

To my left, stood a familiar-looking billboard (a 10 by 20 poster, if you’re in the biz). I could see that same red tulip on the same white background I had seen chalked on the sidewalk a little earlier. The headline read: "Sayonara, Slush." The HGTV logo appeared in the lower right-hand corner.

Moments later, I found myself back at the intersection of Yonge and Bloor and I noticed that the "Sayonara, Slush" sidewalk chalk creation had been completed. People were stopping and looking down at the image.

It was an arresting graphic. A red flower on white background, which stood out against the gray sidewalk in the same way that spring was standing out against the last vestiges of gray winter. And then it dawned on me: The sidewalk poster was a horizontal version of the billboard and not a random act of art.

At that moment, I made the connection. Goodbye winter, hello spring, flowers, gardening, home and garden, HGTV, spring programming season. Bingo! Spring was being brought to me by HGTV. The creative and media combined to link the image to the brand quickly and efficiently.

Now, this was not a big media plan, nor was it complex or expensive. But it was a very good media plan, indeed. Which leads me to an obvious question – What exactly are the characteristics of a very good media plan?

Well, timing must be pretty high up on the checklist. In my opinion, timing goes well beyond allocating weight against high demand. Timing can also mean directing the message to the public when the public has precisely the right mind-set. The HGTV media plan built upon that day’s main news event – the arrival of spring.

Place, too, is a key characteristic, and by "place" I don’t mean what city or region the message should run. The HGTV media plan was effective because it delivered the message outside via outdoor. Where else can spring be experienced?

The plan also featured a characteristic I’d never really thought about before – an invitation to participate. It provided the consumer an opportunity to witness and thereby become involved in, the production of the ad. The sidewalk artist was creating a poster before my very eyes – and I couldn’t help but stop and stare. (Come to think of it, I also stop in my tracks every time I see a crew pasting up a new billboard, or filming a TV commercial. Maybe I’m not so jaded, after all.)

And last but not least, I’d have to say being multi-directional is an important component of a very good media plan.

The HGTV message came up from below and down from above. The trick here was organizing the campaign so the multi-directional delivery happened in a short timeframe.

Let’s see. The HGTV plan had great timing, appeared in the right place, invited participation and came at people from several different directions. All the makings of a very good plan, indeed.

Send your comments via e-mail to

ryoung@hypn.com.

Cannes Lions 2025: More Lions go to Rethink and Weber Shandwick

Strategy is on the ground in Cannes, bringing you the latest news, wins and conference highlights all week long. Catch all the coverage here.

Thursday’s batch of Silver and Bronze winners included the Creative Business Transformation, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy, Luxury Lions, Brand Experience & Activation, Innovation and Creative Commerce Lions categories. Canadians were recognized with three Lions today: a Silver in Brand Experience & Activation, a Bronze in Creative Commerce and a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness. Rethink was awarded twice on Day 4, while Weber Shandwick rounded out the Canadian agency wins with one Lion. Below is a look at the work. Catch the Gold winners later this afternoon when they’re revealed at the gala in Cannes.

Creative Commerce (1 Silver)

1 SILVER: “U Up?” by Rethink for IKEA

IKEA’s “U Up?” campaign has legs, it turns out. The campaign is getting major love at Cannes. The IKEA work, created in collaboration with Rethink Toronto, added to its Cannes Lions tally with a Silver medal in Creative Commerce. That now makes five total Lions for the work, including two Golds on Wednesday night, for Direct and Socal & Creator. The campaign has been lauded by jurors for its dexterity, contextual timing and humour.

Creative Effectiveness (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch” by Rethink for Kraft Heinz 

Both Rethink and Kraft Heinz picked up another Lion, this one a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness for their collaboration on “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch.” Not only did the work capture a culture moment spurred by Taylor Swift, but it also created a new product, “in under 24 hours,” to match. The latest two Lions makes 10 total wins for Rethink. Kraft Heinz and Rethink also picked up a rare Gold Lion for Media a day earlier.

Brand Experience & Activation (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Airbnb Icons” by Weber Shandwick for Airbnb

The Weber Shandwick work, “Airbnb Icons,” won Bronze on Thursday in Brand Experience & Activation after claiming a Bronze in Media Wednesday. Airbnb turned media brands into a destination, partnering with the likes of Marvel and Disney to offer travellers experiences like drifting off in the Up house or crashing at an X-Men mansion. The first 11 experiences rolled out mid-2024, and most of the experiences were free or under $100, with over 4,000 tickets sold by the end of the season.