Challenge
Canada is consistently ranked among the top countries for quality of life. But few of us realize that 1 in 6 households – over 850,000 people – need the help of a food bank every month just to make ends meet. Even more heartbreaking, a third of these people are children. Right here in Canada. In 2003, Purolator employees decided to take action by creating Purolator Tackle Hunger – an initiative that’s simply about people helping people. Since then, they have delivered more than 18 million meals to families across the country. In an effort to help Purolator raise both awareness and donations in support of Tackle Hunger Week (June 4th to 8th), they teamed up with us to create a powerful, unscripted video set against the backdrop of Guelph, Ontario. The idyllic town of Guelph is, unfortunately, part of the story: the Guelph Food Bank now regularly feeds over 100 families a day. The goal of the video was to truly drive home just how widespread the issue of hunger is – and that was accomplished by telling the story from the point of view of the voices on the front lines – the farmers, food bank personnel, and of course our employees who volunteer to help make Purolator Tackle Hunger such a huge success.
Solution
The film unfolded in the style of a documentary more than a commercial, a fact that’s reinforced by the long-form running time of 3 minutes and 10 seconds. That said, the story was propelled by the strong emotion generated by authentic voices telling their own stories – and, by extensions, the stories of small towns and communities all across Canada. The entire piece revolved around authentic storytelling. In addition to the anthemic 3-plus minute film playing on Purolator’s Tackle Hunger landing page, Purolator ran a 30-second national broadcast spot and also 15-second versions optimized for TrueView along with Purolator’s social channels.
Results
The video generated overwhelmingly positive results, moving the needle on key metrics like “brand favourability” and “intent to purchase” and leading to the decision to expand the series into a national initiative. The Tackle Hunger series will document the issue of hunger in cities and towns all across Canada, driving awareness and donations, and recording the efforts that Purolator is making to turn the tide.
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