It’s hard enough to get university students to even look at your ad, never mind create one for you. But Toronto-based Rethink Breast Cancer has had some success in doing just that with Ogrant, a Markham-based interactive online grant service start-up.

Rethink asked students to create ads based on its ‘Touch, Look, Check’ concept. At press time, 47 student-generated ads had been uploaded at ogrant.ca for a chance to win a $1,000 grant, netting 70,000 views.

‘We thought it was a really different way to engage university-age youth and see what they have to say about breast health,’ says Alison Gordon, Rethink’s VP strategy, marketing and communications. ‘I would love to have the content on our website as a way of keeping it alive.’

Ogrant has a database of over 300,000 Canadian students that it sends blasts to each time a new promotion goes live. ‘These guys have a great network,’ says Gordon.

‘Getting money for school is always top of mind for students,’ says Shachin Ghelani, co-founder of Ogrant. ‘It helps marketers build brand equity with a fickle group.’

‘It’s an opportunity to be associated with scholarships and all the positive attributes,’ adds Gordon. ‘We get the double benefit.’

Ogrant has an in-house creative team to help marketers develop programs. Other advertisers who have signed on include Toronto-based financial co-operative Alterna Savings, the Art Institute of Vancouver and Scholarships Canada.