Buying a home for the first time is sure to bring out a flood of emotions for consumers, an insight RBC and digital agency Entrinsic have tapped into and given the Hollywood treatment for the bank’s latest campaign targeting first-time homebuyers.
Three online films, directed by Hollywood filmmaker Jeremiah Chechik (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Benny & Joon), with Revolver Films in Toronto, tell the story of a couple buying their first home, in the style of a romance, a drama and a horror film.
The campaign is rolling out with full-length trailers of around two minutes running on YouTube, while 30-second versions are deployed as YouTube pre-roll ads. It is supported by full-page movie poster-style ads in newspapers, “coming soon” fake posters on websites and blogs, wild postings, in-cinema advertising, interactive banner ads and social content, as well as influencer outreach. RBC will promote the campaign via social media platforms, such as Twitter and is supporting it with a contest for the chance to win $25,000 towards a mortgage down payment.
The bank says the aim of the campaign is to both communicate that the brand understands what first-time buyers go through but also that RBC is there for them when they’re ready to buy. To that end, the bank and agency have deployed a YouTube annotation strategy for each video that drives to RBC’s digital properties, allowing viewers to contact one of the bank’s mortgage specialists in real time and book an appointment to get pre-approved for a mortgage. In the horror trailer for instance, during a faux-scary scene, a tag appears with the question “Feeling alone? RBC mortgage specialists are a click away.”
The embedded annotations will allow the brand to track conversions and which tools consumers use as a result of seeing the videos on YouTube, enabling the company to develop a clearer picture on the ROI from the campaign.
“Based on the data we gather we’ll be able to augment the campaign, making it increasingly connected so that it drives strong results for [RBC]” Eli Singer, founder and president, Entrinsic, said in a statement.
“Measuring the performance of each annotation and video also allows us to actively learn and optimize throughout the campaign,” adds Larry Jacobs, marketing head, personal financing projects, RBC.
The bank has launched the campaign, which will be in market through the spring buying season, the same week Canadian Tire seeded out an online and TV spot for its Continental TrueContact tire that has a cinematic feel to it and is also supported with movie-style poster ads.
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