The relationship between media vendors and their advertising partners has grown somewhat impersonal in recent years, with so much media now transacted programmatically.
But an impromptu program conceived by Torstar in partnership with RBC this week demonstrates the continued importance of personal relationships, and how they can translate into unexpected marketing opportunities.
It began with a story by Toronto Star columnist Vinay Menon relating to the publication's annual Santa Claus Fund. First conceived by Star founder Joseph E. Atkinson in 1906 as a way to ensure there were gifts under the tree for under-privileged families, the Fund has gone from distributing 100 gift boxes in its first year, to 50,000 today.
Menon had a somewhat audacious idea to ask Time magazine's 2023 Person of the Year, Taylor Swift, through her management company 13 Management, to donate to the Fund, and the global pop superstar responded by donating $13,000 (13 is her favourite number).
Sensing an opportunity, Torstar's chief client officer Michael Beckerman swiftly got in touch with RBC's executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, Mary DePaoli, to see if there was something the two organizations could do around Swift's generosity.
Earlier this year, RBC signed on as the official financial services partner and ticket access partner for all Canadian dates of Swift's Eras Tour. It's a continuation of its longstanding support of music, which includes a partnership with Live Nation, and programs like RBC Emerging Artists.
"Music is so universal. There's something for everyone, so it has great appeal," said DePaoli, who responded to Beckerman's initial outreach within minutes.
She told him that RBC would not only match Swift's $13,000 donation, but would also donate a pair of tickets to one of the Toronto shows that Torstar could build a promotion around.
Running across Torstar's print and digital properties, the ticket promotion generated more than $50,000 in donations in the first 24 hours. The company is also promoting the ticket giveaway to the nearly 500,000 subscribers and registered users in its email database, while employees are also promoting it via their social channels.
And AFK, a youth and gaming culture news joint venture between Torstar and Enthusiast Gaming, is also promoting the story via its TikTok channel.
For Beckerman, RBC's quick reaction is proof of "the remarkable sense of community" that continues to exist within Canadian media.
"Relationships matter, and working with people with [the same values] matters even more," he said. "I knew RBC had worked hard on their tour sponsorship, I know they've got a strong sense of community. Our journalist wrote that article on Thursday [Dec. 14], we got RBC's commitment on Friday, and we got the promotion up and running [on Tuesday, Dec. 19]."
DePaoli said that the best programs and marketing concepts are the result of two things: agility and relationships. "This is a great example of just that," she said.
"Having a great relationship with Torstar, and with Mike and [publisher Jordan Bitove] in particular meant that they thought of us quickly, and we were able to mobilize quickly," DePaoli told The Message. "There was no downside and only upside to getting a call like that.
"This was just a great intersection between personal relationships and the amplification of something so culturally relevant, with the added benefit that it's great for the community and great for kids," she added. "That's something that will always be special to us."
It's also an example of how major sponsorships can be leveraged in ways that may not have been considered when the contract was signed. "When you think of moments like this, there are so many assets and tools at your disposal," she said. "It's just a matter of knowing the moment, and knowing how to leverage that moment in a way that has relevance."
DePaoli pointed to Nick Taylor's remarkable 72-foot putt at this year's RBC Canadian Open as an example of the kinds of unexpectedly great moments arising out of sponsorships that can galvanize consumers and benefit sponsors. "It's just capturing lightning in a bottle and leveraging that with your audience," she said. (The putt also led the event to update its logo for 2024, with Taylor's putter toss after the shot now memorialized).
And while RBC has already given away thousands of tickets to the Eras Tour to its Avion cardholders, it is gearing up for 10 months of furious activation in the lead-up to the first Canadian dates in November.
"There'll be a lot of surprise and delight, and a lot of contesting," said DePaoli. "We are going to be really leveraging this sponsorship, not just for people in the GTA and Vancouver, but we plan to make this a national opportunity for Swifties."
But an impromptu program conceived by Torstar in partnership with RBC this week demonstrates the continued importance of personal relationships, and how they can translate into unexpected marketing opportunities.
It began with a story by Toronto Star columnist Vinay Menon relating to the publication's annual Santa Claus Fund. First conceived by Star founder Joseph E. Atkinson in 1906 as a way to ensure there were gifts under the tree for under-privileged families, the Fund has gone from distributing 100 gift boxes in its first year, to 50,000 today.Menon had a somewhat audacious idea to ask Time magazine's 2023 Person of the Year, Taylor Swift, through her management company 13 Management, to donate to the Fund, and the global pop superstar responded by donating $13,000 (13 is her favourite number).
Sensing an opportunity, Torstar's chief client officer Michael Beckerman swiftly got in touch with RBC's executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, Mary DePaoli, to see if there was something the two organizations could do around Swift's generosity.
Earlier this year, RBC signed on as the official financial services partner and ticket access partner for all Canadian dates of Swift's Eras Tour. It's a continuation of its longstanding support of music, which includes a partnership with Live Nation, and programs like RBC Emerging Artists.
"Music is so universal. There's something for everyone, so it has great appeal," said DePaoli, who responded to Beckerman's initial outreach within minutes.
She told him that RBC would not only match Swift's $13,000 donation, but would also donate a pair of tickets to one of the Toronto shows that Torstar could build a promotion around.
Running across Torstar's print and digital properties, the ticket promotion generated more than $50,000 in donations in the first 24 hours. The company is also promoting the ticket giveaway to the nearly 500,000 subscribers and registered users in its email database, while employees are also promoting it via their social channels.
And AFK, a youth and gaming culture news joint venture between Torstar and Enthusiast Gaming, is also promoting the story via its TikTok channel.
For Beckerman, RBC's quick reaction is proof of "the remarkable sense of community" that continues to exist within Canadian media.
"Relationships matter, and working with people with [the same values] matters even more," he said. "I knew RBC had worked hard on their tour sponsorship, I know they've got a strong sense of community. Our journalist wrote that article on Thursday [Dec. 14], we got RBC's commitment on Friday, and we got the promotion up and running [on Tuesday, Dec. 19]."
DePaoli said that the best programs and marketing concepts are the result of two things: agility and relationships. "This is a great example of just that," she said.
"Having a great relationship with Torstar, and with Mike and [publisher Jordan Bitove] in particular meant that they thought of us quickly, and we were able to mobilize quickly," DePaoli told The Message. "There was no downside and only upside to getting a call like that.
"This was just a great intersection between personal relationships and the amplification of something so culturally relevant, with the added benefit that it's great for the community and great for kids," she added. "That's something that will always be special to us."
It's also an example of how major sponsorships can be leveraged in ways that may not have been considered when the contract was signed. "When you think of moments like this, there are so many assets and tools at your disposal," she said. "It's just a matter of knowing the moment, and knowing how to leverage that moment in a way that has relevance."
DePaoli pointed to Nick Taylor's remarkable 72-foot putt at this year's RBC Canadian Open as an example of the kinds of unexpectedly great moments arising out of sponsorships that can galvanize consumers and benefit sponsors. "It's just capturing lightning in a bottle and leveraging that with your audience," she said. (The putt also led the event to update its logo for 2024, with Taylor's putter toss after the shot now memorialized).
And while RBC has already given away thousands of tickets to the Eras Tour to its Avion cardholders, it is gearing up for 10 months of furious activation in the lead-up to the first Canadian dates in November.
"There'll be a lot of surprise and delight, and a lot of contesting," said DePaoli. "We are going to be really leveraging this sponsorship, not just for people in the GTA and Vancouver, but we plan to make this a national opportunity for Swifties."
—Photo by Rosa Rafael on Unsplash
