Full-service online gaming operator Casino Time is looking to showcase the breadth of its offerings in a new campaign with help from a Sasquatch-like creature.
In the eponymous hero spot, “Big Fran,” the brand emphasizes its core products and availability to locals wherever they are in Ontario, like hunkering down in a cave or in the bush.
Agency partner Sister Merci was tasked to develop the campaign’s brand strategy and positioning, and establish a robust visual identity and creative platform that could function across Casino Time’s portfolio of products, which includes slots, live dealer casino games, bingo and a sportsbook addition later this year.
“We didn’t want to show up the way all these other online gaming sites are showing up,” says Amanda Wood, founding partner and creative lead at Sister Merci. “You see a lot of competitors really heavy on the slick and flashy graphics and the idea of the immersiveness in a digital world, and we really saw an opportunity to do something different, with more of an emotional hook.”
Featuring an isolated creature in the bush, Wood says, is a great way to tell the story of some casino game social features, like live chat with friends or customer service, and live dealers. She says the brand has “big plans” for the campaign’s central character, Fran, adding that as Casino Time works on its sportsbook offerings, it’ll look to integrate the creature into promoting these features as well.
The target audience for the brand is quite broad, Wood says, but the second spot (below) features bingo ladies, as Casino Time’s bingo gameplay skews toward a female demographic.
“Big Fran” is the first province-wide integrated campaign for Casino Time to promote the launch of its website, and will run to mid-December. It covers broadcast TV, radio, YouTube, paid social, digital and programmatic banners and OOH.
The competitive set is fairly saturated with Bet365, FanDuel and other competitors, so Wood says the agency was excited to carve out a niche.
Sister Merci has had a two-and-a-half year relationship with Casino Time, and had a different campaign in the works but had to pivot its messaging slightly thanks to changes in provincial regulatory regimes
Blue Noise Studios oversaw the provincial media buy.
