Go Easy is steering clear of product attributes in its latest campaign, instead focusing on the financial milestones it can help non-prime borrowers achieve on their path to better credit.

Andrea Fiederer, Go Easy’s EVP and CMO, says much of the non-prime lender’s competition tends to focus on approval times, rates and size of their loans. Go Easy’s past efforts were also more product and tactical-focused, Fiederer says, “telling people Go Easy can approve them when banks are not an option.” This time, the campaign is focusing on storytelling.

“Better Tomorrows,” the alternative lender’s integrated campaign for consumer lending division Easy Financial, was designed to focus on moments when people are looking to do the best for their family, showing events like a birthday, getting braces and receiving a college acceptance letter.

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“We really wanted to reinforce that we’re all about helping people see past where they are in the moment and reach their financial outcomes,” Fiederer says.

Fiederer says the company’s goals are to increase applications and drive more traffic to its web platforms, but the campaign is mainly an awareness play. The brand has been in the market since 2006 as Easy Financial and there is high product awareness, but there is opportunity to build on it. There are more consumers in the market for credit now, with 7 million Canadians who don’t have access to credit because of their scores and are wary of payday lenders.

Last week, Statistics Canada released new figures on Canadian household debt levels that showed the amount of money Canadians owed continues to increase. The average Canadian household owed $1.74 in credit market debt (which includes consumer credit, mortgages and non-mortgage loans) for every dollar of disposable income.

Fiederer says the spend on this campaign is slightly higher than past work, driven by the fact that it has traditionally played in specialty TV. This time, there was a conventional TV component as well for broader reach. “We wanted placement in fall premier shows, which was important to us, as well as news channels like CP24,” Fiederer says.

The national media campaign will also leverage  radio, print and digital ads, as well as out-of-home in the greater Toronto area. In addition to spot above, another TV ad will debut in the spring. Arrivals + Departures handled the creative elements.