Covenant House Vancouver knows that money talks and a picture is worth a thousand words. So, an ultra-simple new online execution for the charity, which helps street youth, uses illustrations of clothing and eating utensils made of dollar bills to show potential donors exactly where their money goes.
‘The primary goal is to show people what Covenant House does to help,’ says Michelle Clausius, associate director, development and communications. ‘We found that in the past, Covenant House ads reinforced the negative image of street youth.’
‘We wanted to be explanatory as opposed to sensational,’ Clausius continues, adding that internal research revealed that while 75% in the Lower Mainland had heard of Covenant House, only 25% knew what the org does. ‘There was a gap between awareness and knowledge.’
Vancouver-based agency Alchemy created the ad to supplement an outdoor campaign that built the media into the creative executions. For example, a truck execution illustrates street kids taking shelter on the truck, with the tag ‘Helping Kids Get Off the Street.’ While the OOH campaign has been going for a year now, the online ad just broke this spring. It’s currently running on the popular entertainment website LaineyGossip.com (‘Lainey’ used to work for the org and frequently donates ad space). Clausius says the ad will continue to roll out as more online media space is donated.
client: Michelle Clausius,
associate director, development
and communications,
Covenant House Vancouver
agency: Alchemy Creative Group
CD: Grant Fraggalosch
copywriter: Ryan Leeson
AD: Tony Hird
photographer: Lionel Trudel
