C&B Advertising spread the word about the launch of Co-op Wine Spirits Beer’s e-commerce platform, where ordering your favourites is as easy as grabbing your device.
“Creativity is a powerful business tool,” observes Leigh Blakely, managing partner at Calgary-based C&B Advertising. “It can change perceptions, influence behaviour and ultimately drive sales.”
It starts, she says, by investing the time to understand customer needs and then articulating those insights in a simple, relevant, emotive truth.
With international travel limited, Tourism Richmond wanted to remindregional visitors they could still ‘Travel Afar. Near.’ Through online videos, OOH, print ads, paid social and digital ads, C&B used incentive-based elements to create a sense of urgency and promote overnight hotel visits.
And whether that’s in campaigns for Travel Alberta, ATCOenergy, Calgary Stampede, or Calgary Silver Linings Foundation, a thread runs through the agency’s work. It has heart. It speaks to consumers in a fundamental way.
“We believe that emotional and rational messaging, working together, are more powerful than on their own,” says Blakely. “To persuade and change perceptions, we need to cut through the hundreds of commercial messages consumers hear and see daily and connect with them on a deeper level.”
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Calgary Stampede was cancelled for the first time in its history. To keep the brand top-of-mind and help raise money in a year of depleted revenues, C&B designed “We Will Ride Again” Stampede T-shirts that sold out.
C&B’s job, notes Blakely, is to help deliver profits today as it sets clients up for success tomorrow. That entails weighing both short-term activation tactics and long-term brand-building communications – using any and all mediums to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of a client’s ad spend.
And that combo of creativity and ROI seems to be paying off for clients.
For Travel Alberta’s “One Shot at Summer” video series, C&B used drones to capture breathtaking landscapes. In market within two weeks of production, the campaign gave operators a much-needed bump before the shoulder season.
When British Columbians emerged from quarantine after the first wave of COVID-19, client Tourism Richmond was ready with an offer true to its brand – an invitation to ‘Travel Afar. Near.’ in Richmond. To help drive visits and motivate audiences, C&B used incentive-based elements to create a sense of urgency and promote overnight hotel visits. Through online videos, OOH, print ads, paid social and digital ads, the campaign reminded regional visitors that the experiences they craved were still available without hopping on a plane.
Over 1,200 bookings were made directly through visitrichmondbc.com during the campaign – exceeding Tourism Richmond’s fall 2019 and winter 2020 campaigns by more than 500 room nights, generating over 48% more revenue and exceeding transaction targets by 70%. Creatively, the campaign saw completion rates for connected TV of 96% and online video as high as 59%, exceeding industry averages of 30% to 40%.
C&B built on the ‘Get it. Done.’ campaign it created for the United Farmers of Alberta, honouring UFA members, customers and employees with videos and ads with the tag ‘Shut in. Not shut down.’ Brand-building tactics and activation at retail and online saw many locations record YOY same-store growth of over 30%
In 2019, C&B created the ‘Get it. Done.’ brand for the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA). Last year, while most people were being asked to stay home, agricultural workers needed to keep operations up and running to keep the country fed. So the agency created a series of videos and ads titled ‘Shut in. Not shut down.’ to honour UFA’s members, customers and employees. The combination of brand-building tactics as well as activation at retail and online saw many locations in the network seeing YOY same-store growth of over 30%.
In 2020, C&B launched Calgary Co-op’s new private label brand, Cal & Gary’s, driving a 10.6% sales increase during the campaign
Last summer, C&B used drone footage to create a series of breathtaking single-shot videos for Travel Alberta that feature a solitary traveller in an iconic provincial landscape. The 7 x 30-second “One Shot at Summer” video series was in market within two weeks of initial production, giving Travel Alberta and tourism operators a much needed end-of-season boost delaying the shoulder-season slump.
Blakely is particularly proud of the project for Calgary Silver Linings Foundation, an org that provides a voice to Alberta’s eating-disorder community. C&B donated its time and expertise, partnering with music and sound house 6 Degrees to produce two evocative radio commercials: one speaking to the dangers associated with social media fitness culture; the other talking directly to the community with a message of hope through treatment. She hopes these dual messages will help change perceptions toward eating disorders – and increase donations.
The past year has seen the C&B team (comprised of about 25 employees and contractors) win projects for clients including Agriculture Financial Services Corporation, Traditional Cowboy Arts Association, Tourism Radium, and Calgary’s University District.
“We’re excited that some of our clients are returning with new ways to operate, despite COVID,” says Blakely, adding that great creative ideas anchored in human truths are needed now more than ever to help drive business results.
CONTACT:
Leigh Blakely
Managing partner
leigh@CandBadvertising.com
The 2021 A-Listers:
Zulu Alpha Kilo: from strength to strength
Target: natural born storytellers
doug&partners: ready for whatever’s next
UM: winning in an uncertain world
Initiative: doubling down on innovation and creating cultural velocity
Media Experts: shaping what’s next
Giants & Gentlemen: the power of unwavering philosophy
Wunderman Thompson: a multidisciplinary service offering
