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MEDIA AS CREATIVE DEPT
Cryo conspiracy
media.
When Calgary-based Imperial Oil launched a new slushie drink,
Cryo, at its Esso gas stations across the country, Toronto-based
OMD Canada stepped up to the challenge with disruptive, cryptic
media – and by partnering with Toronto-based YTV, they got teens
embroiled in TV and web intrigue.
Goal
To engage youth with an
interactive and targeted
multimedia campaign.
Target
Teens 12 to 17.
Insights and
strategy
Teenagers wish for
exhilarating experiences
to transform their
highly structured lives.
To help them escape
from the mundane and
to launch the new Cryo
beverage, the team
devised disruptive
communications that fed
into teenagers’ desire to
be actively involved in the
thrill of action, discovery
and intrigue.
The plan
Working with Corus
Entertainment’s YTV,
the team created a
“conspiracy theory”
storyline in which
television and the web
were used to engage the
target. Teens were driven
to “Uncover the Truth”
about the new product
through an intricate
storyline, unfolded via
the fi rst ever isolated
commercial placements
that interrupted
programming on YTV last
May, mimicking a rogue
broadcast. Investigative
youth were driven to three
microsites posted by three
main characters to explain
their versions of the story.
Like real undercover
agents, teens were able to
hack emails and access
top-secret data.
Results
Site traffi c was 46%
higher than YTV
benchmarks, while
clickthrough
rates exceeded
average industry
rates by 85%.
The time spent
per session was
80% higher than
average promotions.
In the launch month
ending in June, sales
exceeded goals by
25%. As well, there was
lots of online chatter on
various forums.
Credits
OMD: Bita Fesharaki,
strategy manager; Raquel
Mullin, media supervisor;
Laura Chiaravalloti, strategist
Imperial Oil: Carla M.
Whitehurst, convenience
retailing client advisor;
Don Rudzinski, brand
communication, Americas
A conspiracy theory
storyline creates buzz for
the Cryo slushie
Corus: Colleen Kennedy,
account executive; Tom
Woyzbun, co-marketing
project manager
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