VML created a one-night-only comedy special starring popular Quebec comedian Pier-Luc Funk to promote the electric Volkswagen ID.4 titled “Sans Émission,” which generated two million earned media impressions.
Much ink has been dedicated to the merger of Taxi and Wunderman Thompson Canada into VML Canada, with Taxi head Rob Guénette taking the helm as CEO. And it’s not all that surprising. When your client list at launch includes a lineup of international heavyweights like Coca-Cola, Rogers Communications, Colgate-Palmolive, HSBC, IKEA and Microsoft, people pay attention.
But it wasn’t just about the roster. Although Guénette had spent nearly two decades leading Taxi, a creative agency known for its storytelling and branding chops, he recognized that the future of advertising was rapidly evolving, and Taxi needed to evolve, too. “It wasn’t that Taxi was out of gas,” he explains. “It was that VML had jet fuel.”
Guénette saw the potential to enhance Taxi’s capabilities by leveraging VML’s global reach and technological prowess. VML’s capabilities include an impressive suite of tools and expertise in CRM and Commerce as well as deep customer and brand experience. Integrating these with Taxi’s creative cred could propel both entities to new heights and he saw a future in which the two cultures seamlessly merged, creating a company with a robust and competitive creative platform.
VML collaborated with Stop The Party to create MissType, an email editor that aimed to revolutionize professional communications by embracing diverse linguistic styles and bridging gender gaps. It was envisioned as a tool to empower individuals to communicate effectively while staying true to their unique voices.
This vision extends well beyond Canada’s borders. He wants the new entity to be a net contributor to VML’s global success, participating in high-profile projects “because of our work, our reputation and because there are no gaps in our capabilities.”
And, he adds, the status quo isn’t good enough. “We have to see our creative output increase,” he says. “We have more places to apply creativity across more places in the customer journey. We are upping our game.”
Only a few months into this brave new world, you can already see that acumen at work.
“It’s about creating connected brands that drive growth,” explains CCO Graham Lang. “We need big ideas that deliver multiple touch points, multiple ways in which consumers can engage with the brand. Whether it’s TV or mobile, influencers or a piece of tech, for us it’s about making sure that we’re creating ecosystems.”
You see it manifest in efforts like the “Ontario Racing Unfiltered” campaign for Ontario Racing and OLG. Lang describes it as a business transformation initiative – revitalizing interest in a sport that had fallen out of mainstream favour. The centrepiece was a five-part docu-series that offered a behind-the-scenes look in a narrative format. It premiered on streaming platforms and spanned social media, OOH and TV and trended as a top sports documentary on CRAVE, with videos amassing more than 16 million views across platforms.
The “Ontario Racing Unfiltered” campaign for Ontario Racing and OLG led to more in-track betting and attendance, as well as a video library that amassed more than 16 million views across all platforms.
A campaign for Volkswagen in Quebec, meanwhile, capitalized on off-air hours on local TV stations, which typically greet viewers with a “Sans Émission” message. In its place, VML created a onenight-only comedy special to promote the electric Volkswagen ID.4 titled “Sans Émission,” starring popular Quebec comedian Pier-Luc Funk. The special was promoted with teaser commercials, OOH ads, paid social media and TV guide listings, and saw more than 63,000 people tune in. The effort generated two million earned media impressions and 94% percent of viewers said they would consider purchase.
Why did it resonate? “We created an experiential touch point where creativity, media and entertainment intersected,” explains Lang. But he’s also quick to point to the collaborative nature of the project and give credit to Funk. “What I have generally found in my career is that, if you have a good idea and you invite people in that can help make it better, great things happen,” he says.
That can certainly be said of the “Magic Duos” campaign for Coca-Cola by WPP Open X and led by VML Canada. An outdoor campaign tying the brand to favourite local dishes (34% of all Coke worldwide is consumed with a meal), the idea was to employ a fraction of the company’s famous logo and typography to tell the story – which required huge amounts of buy-in on the part of the client. The campaign began in Canada but included a global toolkit that saw it picked up in Mexico City and beyond.
The “Magic Duos” outdoor campaign for Coca-Cola was an idea that began in Canada and spread worldwide, tying the legendary brand to shared meals and local foods.
“It’s an idea that was born in Canada but has gone global,” says Lang. “If you have brands that really mean something to people, you’ve got to reward them with something interesting. You can’t just be wallpaper. You’ve got to move them, engage them emotionally and create those connections.”
CONTACT:
Rob Guenette
CEO VML Canada
rob.guenette@vml.com
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