Two big problems exist:
Principles, as EDC’s marketing agency, was engaged to address both problems. The goal was to grow our audience while educating and mobilizing people to protect Ontario's environment in meaningful ways.
Our research shows that people know urban sprawl is a problem, but they don’t really understand what that term means. So our big idea focused on creating a cartoon character to personify the issue, using the character as an educational device that could compel action from our audiences.
The campaign had clear business objectives and KPIs:
This campaign, a new initiative, built on the momentum of the Greenbelt campaign, aimed to create sustained awareness and action against urban sprawl through digital engagement strategies.
The strategic impetus for this campaign was to combat the threat of urban sprawl in Ontario. Our top insight revealed that while Ontarians recognized urban sprawl as an issue, they didn’t fully grasp its implications.
The above insight led us to simplify and personify the issue by creating a fictional cartoon character villain to represent the problem that audiences could engage with, making the issue relatable and moving them to a place of understanding and action.
Knowing that urban sprawl wouldn’t be stopped with a single campaign, we developed a cohesive concept that could be used for all Ontario urban sprawl initiatives moving forward. Our campaign introduced “Mr. Sprawl.” This character served as a common enemy, clearly demonstrating the negative impacts of urban sprawl.
This villainous cartoon character and the campaign we built around him focused on his vision to turn Ontario into a sprawl wasteland, highlighting the environmental, affordability, and quality-of-life costs. Some of the creative executions were animated, and some featured our cartoon villain interacting with real politicians using photography. This humorous and engaging approach allowed us to tell the story without finger-wagging or getting too cerebral, making the campaign accessible and relatable.
A thorough discovery process included group facilitations, stakeholder interviews, and online surveys (1,878 responses). Our research unveiled a target audience of older Ontarians (60+) who trust traditional news outlets and are also active on Facebook or YouTube. They are highly concerned but less knowledgeable about urban sprawl. Having experienced its impacts, they are willing to discuss these issues (once they understand them) and they believe in protecting the environment for future generations.
These insights shaped our strategy and media plan, combining top-of-funnel awareness through TV (traditional media) and conversion-optimized advocacy content on Meta platforms (Facebook, specifically). The primary call-to-action urged people to send pre-written letters to their MPPs. In doing so, they were also given the option to opt-in to receiving future communications from EDC.
We utilized CBC Display Ads, CP24 and The Weather Network TV spots, Meta ads (static, motion, and short-form video), a dedicated landing page, an automated “Letter to Target” call-to-action, and a triggered email welcome series to encourage further action, ensuring sustained engagement with other environmental asks. Additionally, we created a series of UGC (User Generated Content) style videos featuring people urging viewers to join the movement against Mr. Sprawl.
This multi-channel approach ensured broad visibility and engagement, making the campaign stand out and resonate with our target audience of older Ontarians active on Facebook and YouTube. The multi-channel approach also helped us navigate our biggest challenge: because Meta determined these ads to be "social issues" related, we were in a constant cycle of ad rejections, appeals and re-approvals on Meta properties but were able to rely on other channels to pick up the slack while we navigated this very real challenge.
The campaign was a tremendous success, surpassing all objectives. We achieved a CPA of $3.50 per email opt-in, 12.5% better than our target. The advocacy tactic led to significant political impact, with 1,400+ letters sent to MPPs.
The “Mr. Sprawl” brand resonated with audiences, showing potential for future engagement. Top-of-funnel marketing established the “Mr. Sprawl” brand, generating favorable results.
Our Meta ads reached 588,569 people with 2.69 million impressions, generating 30,839 clicks, 3,068 shares, and 14,393 actions.
We discovered a large, engaged audience for EDC’s issues. Testing segments revealed ample room for further audience expansion. A second phase extended our reach to younger demographics with more UGC videos and Instagram Reels placements.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
