From Marketing Magazine November 26, 2007
By Chris Powell
This year, it seemed you couldn’t go to the movies, watch a hockey game, take in an all-night art exhibition, note the winner of a prestigious literary award, or even run a marathon without encountering Scotiabank.
That’s because of what John Doig, Scotiabank’s senior vice-president of marketing, sales and service, describes as a “heavy sponsorship program” for the financial services company. The key, he says, has been forging alliances with cultural events and programs that enrich Canadians’ lives beyond just their bank account.
Call it high-interest marketing.
Cynthia Fleming, the Toronto-based executive VP of Carat Canada, Scotiabank’s media agency, says that because Scotiabank spends considerably less on traditional advertising than its rivals in the banking category (it spent $21.1 million on measured media advertising in 2006 according to Nielsen Media Research, roughly half the amount spent by Royal Bank Financial Group and TD Canada Trust) it needs to be imaginative in its marketing approach. “Awareness is important in terms of consideration,” she says. “So if you’re going to be a consideration for a consumer, you have to work very hard-particularly when your resources are less than that of the competition.” Sponsorship programs, she says, ensure a high level of engagement with consumers.
This year saw Scotiabank expand a diverse sponsorship roster that already included the Scotiabank Tor-onto Waterfront Marathon (which drew 12,500 participants for its eighth edition in September), the Scotiabank Giller Prize (in its third year) and the second annual Nuit Blanche dusk-to-dawn art event in Toronto.
New additions included title sponsorship of Hockey Night in Canada’s pre-game show, rechristened Scotiabank Hockey Tonight. The deal includes regular commercial placement and pre- sentation of the “Scotiabank Power Stat”-a statistic that announcers feel was a key to the game-in the third period of both games of HNIC’s Saturday doubleheader.
Scotiabank also joined both the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) in a partnership, making it the official bank of the two organizations in Canada and expanding on existing partnerships with the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators, whose arena is known as Scotiabank Place.
More unusual, perhaps, is the bank’s relationship with Cineplex movie theatres. As part of that deal, Scotiabank launched the “Scene” rewards card and key Cineplex movie venues in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal were renamed Scotiabank Theatres. The Scene card enables cardholders to earn points on purchases that can then be redeemed for free movies and concession stand discounts at the theatres. Scene card enrolment is “wildly over plan” says Doig, and the program has brought the bank into contact with younger Canadians. “It’s a space where we’re talking to a different demographic and one, quite frankly, that over the years we’ve not necessarily talked to,” he says.
Scotiabank is capitalizing on its presence in movie theatres by running spots created specifically for film crowds. “We’re obviously going to do the TV spots,” Doig says, “but you focus on the fact that we have a captive audience inside of Cineplex. Those are paying customers that came in to watch a movie [so] it has to be clever and fresh. You’re not just one of the commercials, you’re part of the entertainment.”
Earlier this month, Scotiabank introduced a new video podcast called Second Opinion-a complement to its existing The Money Clip and Find the Money audio podcasts. Hosted by Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod and Bev Moir, senior investment executive, the podcast educates investors and demonstrates how getting a second opinion can potentially bolster their portfolio. As with other programs, the podcasts are built around Scotiabank’s “You’re richer than you think” positioning.
Fleming, who is privy to other financial services work done around the world by Carat, believes Scotiabank is among the leaders when it comes to differentiating its brand. “In terms of their category, they’re more innovative than most,” she says. “You have to have great visionaries in order to execute on those sorts of things.”
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