Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

Delivering information, being responsive and engaging in real‐time dialogue within a highly regulated
industry: Financial services companies operate within a strict regulatory environment and must weigh
legal and privacy considerations when communicating with the public. Devising rapid response
protocols, a social media triage, getting content pre‐approved by the publication review process team
where possible, and having a legal team on hand to ensure faster turnarounds has been critical to
BrighterLife.ca’s successful operation in an ever‐changing real‐time environment.
Measurement/Evaluation of Outcomes
Since launching in September 2011, BrighterLife.ca has garnered recognition as an innovative consumercentric
content marketing platform. In a blog post by Financial Post columnist Jonathan Chevreau, a
critical influencer on financial topics in Canada, he says that although he would not:
“…normally focus on this kind of corporate web initiative, I think this one is worth taking note of —
particularly if you’re an executive developing corporate blogs, web sites and trying to develop a social
media strategy.”BrighterLife.ca already receives a third of the amount of traffic currently going to their
corporate site, SunLife.com, and is responsible for a significant number of leads. Its traffic is on track to
rise exponentially in 2012, putting it on an excellent trajectory to achieve bold targets that surpass
SunLife.com visitors, and to become the major source of new web leads in Canada.
As part of the planning phase, a detailed measurement dashboard was created which mapped metrics
of key performance indicators. Monthly scorecard reports are generated from this measurement
dashboard in order to track progress against set objectives.
BrighterLife.ca already receives a third of the amount of traffic currently going to their corporate site,
SunLife.com, and is responsible for a significant number of leads. Its traffic is on track to rise
exponentially in 2012, putting it on an excellent trajectory to achieve bold targets that surpass
SunLife.com visitors, and to become the major source of new web leads in Canada.
To date, Brighter Life has exceeded many of its forecasted targets that had been mapped to three major
goals.
1. Drive leads to SunLife.ca and generate sales referrals for Sun Life advisors
Exceeded the 2011 Q4 target for generated leads by 270%, with more than 240 advisor leads and
3,300 click‐throughs to SunLife.ca,
Created more than 200 articles to date that advisors can share with clients to generate referrals
2. Grow the pool of potential customers by creating and distributing content that appeals to
previously untapped consumers in the active evaluation phase
54,700 site visits, exceeding 2011 Q4 target by 30%
94,200 page views, growing 46% in Q4 2011
1.8MM unique people reached on Facebook as of Dec. 31, 2011 (28‐day total)
6,072 page likes on Facebook as of Dec. 31, 2011, exceeding 2011 Q4 target by 500%
More than 1 million social media impressions in December 2011 alone
Custom Content Council, The Customer Publishing Industry 2011, http://www.customcontentcouncil.com/research/customer‐publishing‐industry‐2011/
ii comScore Inc 2010. Canada Digital Year in Review. Search in Canada.
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2011/2010_Canada_Digital_Year_in_Review
iii comScore Inc 2010. Canada Digital Year in Review. Social Networking.
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2011/2010_Canada_Digital_Year_in_Review
iv MarketWatch – The Wall Street Journal. Canadians’ YouTube, Twitter, Facebook usage surpasses that in U.S (based on comScore research
findings). http://blogs.marketwatch.com/canada/2011/01/26/canadians‐youtube‐twitter‐facebook‐usage‐surpasses‐americas/