Direct+Interactive's first annual Top Ten
October 2001- Strategy Magazine
by Lisa D’Innocenzo

Strategy Direct+Interactive's first annual Top Ten Interactive Campaigns competition was designed to spotlight some of the top overall interactive marketing executed in Canada over the last 12 months (from August 2000 to July 2001). Entries were evaluated based on their exemplary use of the electronic media - we were looking for online campaigns (or components of larger, integrated campaigns) that embodied innovation and creativity. How effectively did the campaign achieve the marketer's objectives and goals - did the interactive elements serve to reinforce the objective or overall strategy? Are the overall creative and offer well geared to the online/electronic medium? And finally, does the interactive campaign push the envelope, test or experiment with new technologies, capabilities and/or formats?

The Judges

Ted Boyd, President, IcebergMedia.com, Toronto Sara Ross-Schlatter, Internet marketing manager, HMV.com, Toronto Andrew Keyes, partner, director of marketing services, Armantus, Toronto Silver: Chivas Regal Stirs the fancy of younger demo

Chivas Regal isn't just for stodgy old suits, but for ambitious young suits too. Or so parent company Seagramhoped to convince the 25- to 34-year-old, university-educated crowd in Canada, with its When You Know interactive campaign.

"The challenge is that [the scotch brand] has an older, more established audience, and it's trying to attract younger males through a cheeky, edgy banter," explains Alexis Zamkow, managing partner at Toronto-based agency TBWA\Chiat\Day. "[The hope was] that they would recognize this label as one that relates to their lifestyle and that they would feel comfortable drinking in a public forum."

Ranked as the second top interactive campaign, this Web initiative ran during the hectic Christmas holiday season and was wrapped around a contest to win a product likely on the top of most young men's wish lists: a 50-inch Toshiba color TV.

But the effort was mainly about conveying the brand's sense of humor, points out Andrew Skuja, art director and designer at TBWA\Chiat\Day.

Chivas Regal used 22,000 no-charge, opt-in e-mail addresses from Toronto-based digital e-marketing firm N5R to announce the contest. When respondents visited, they were exposed to five Flash animation vignettes exhibiting the whiskey label's personality: one that is intelligent, irreverent and audacious.

In one of the scenarios, a man strains to squeeze into a pair of plaid pants. The copy reads, "When you know, it's not the clothes that make the man, but the clothes that make the man buy new clothes."

Another shows an attractive woman in black lingerie holding a whip. "When you know, it's gonna hurt, but you kinda like it," it says.

The strategy, which linked back to Chivas Regal's global When You Know print, TV and outdoor venture, presented a targeted effort geared at upwardly mobile urbanites in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

"We tried to talk about what they might be going through, but the goal was to keep it funny and click [with them]," explains Andrew Pugsley, CD at TBWA\Chiat\Day.

The tagline neatly relates back to the brand because it implies that when you reach a certain age, you know what a good scotch is, according to Zamkow, who adds that the high refer-a-friend response (25% of all contest entrants) revealed that the creative hit home.

"It indicated that [the campaign] related to the target's sense of humor because they wanted to share it with friends," she says, adding that both the entertainment component and a page of recipes - perfect tidbits for a holiday often associated with festive boozing - were added to encourage people to revisit.

However, there was a risk of going overboard with the message. "[The question] was, is this edgy enough to be relevant and impactful or is it beyond good taste?" says Zamkow. But apparently, it didn't turn off almost 12,000 guys who entered the contest, 50% of whom also consented to receive additional communication going forward. In fact, the company plans to re-contact them regarding the Chivas Brothers' 200th anniversary this fall.

Chivas also invested in a banner "run of site" campaign on Yahoo.ca that appeared to subscribers in the demographic range, as well as similar initiatives on Excite@Home and Hotmail.com. Advertising on Canoe.com, which included a banner leveraging relevant content such as sports, entertainment and finance, was also stirred into the mix. In total, 137,000 e-mails were sent, and more than 1.5 million impressions purchased. The average click-through rate for the entire banner ad effort was 0.44%, meeting the industry's overall success rate of between 0.3% and 0.4%.

Indeed, the results imply that the young male audience could swallow the campaign's message, and that it was in "good taste" after all.