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July 2006 - Strategy Magazine
Upfront

Colour in the sky

by Annette Bourdeau
page 9

Look up, way up, and you just might see the three Brother Canada hot air balloons - in red, yellow and blue - gliding across city skylines this summer.

The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que.-based office equipment company has had a relatively low-key Canadian presence since 1960 (global HQ is in Japan). So, Luc Godard, Brother Canada's marketing director, decided it was time to make a splash and opted to support his new ad campaign, which centres on primary colours to push the brand's colour-printing devices like printers, fax machines and scanners, with this lofty PR move.

"The purpose is to have a visual signature," says Godard of the decision to have the three balloons travel together. "We estimate that we will reach five million people over the summer."

The balloons will have a presence at high-traffic events across Quebec and Ontario, from Parliament Hill on Canada Day to the Montreal Jazz Festival to Guelph, Ont.'s Hillside Festival. Media folks will be invited along and encouraged to report live from the balloons.

The campaign was developed in-house, and includes print ads in publications like ROB and Canadian Business, as well as online and POP elements, all building up to the busy back-to-work/ back-to-school fall season. PR is being handled by Toronto-based agency Punch.

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