Interac launches HolidayLife campaign celebrating togetherness

TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2021 /CNW/ - After nearly two years of uncertainty due to the pandemic, Canadians are rediscovering once familiar ways to spend quality time with loved ones. In a new HolidayLife campaign that spans TV, online video, social, display and in-person experiences at Vancouver Christmas Market, Noël Montréal and the Distillery Winter Village in Toronto, Interac is helping Canadians return to the moments and traditions they've missed the most, all while supporting local communities, small businesses, and local charities.

The integrated campaign builds on the company's new brand platform, Interac InLifetm, launched in the spring 2021. HolidayLife centres around the story of a woman who is determined to capture a family photo with a professional photographer. Despite best efforts, getting the whole extended family to strike the perfect pose presents some relatable challenges. She is ultimately successful in capturing the moment ? paying for her photographer using Interac e-Transfer. Interac is there to help keep things simple ? enabling Canadians to stay in control of their own money as they reunite with friends and family.

"In our holiday campaign, it was important for us to show Canadians in control of their money and choosing to support a small business ? in this case, paying a photographer," said William Keliehor, Chief Commercial Officer at Interac. "As communities reconnect this holiday season, we each have the power to support more localized economic recovery through our purchases. With this in mind, we're proud to sponsor holiday markets in Montréal, Vancouver and Toronto, all featuring small retailers."

Interac will be spreading cheer at the three holiday markets through a variety of sponsored initiatives. At the Distillery Winter Village, Interac will provide gift-wrapping for attendees who make purchases at the holiday market using Interac Debit.¹ At the Vancouver Christmas Market, Interac will be covering the cost of rides on the HolidayLife Carousel. At the Montréal Christmas Market, Interac will be providing holiday treats at the HolidayLife Fire Pit and Ho Ho Ho Airstream.

Sponsorship of the holiday markets by Interac will also benefit select charities. Interac is encouraging holiday market attendees to make donations to the Salvation Army and SickKids Foundation (Toronto), Make-A-Wish Foundation (Vancouver and Montréal) and Project10 (Montréal) using Interac Debit contactless payment. Interac will match these charitable donations up to a total of $25,000 at each of the three holiday market locations, for a national matching total of $75,000.

"Many of us of have overwhelming moments during the holidays when we feel out of control," said Matt Houghton, Director of Digital and Integrated Marketing at Interac. "Through our InLife brand platform, we explore how Canadians can be in control of their own money this holiday season, and that is something we wanted to highlight as Canadians get back together to safely celebrate the holiday season."

The HolidayLife campaign is led by creative agency partner Zulu Alpha Kilo Inc. along with media buying partner Media Experts. It is also brought to life with digital executions including a picture frame Snap lens, Spotify ads, a content series with Narcity, creator content and more. Interac's sponsorships of the Distillery Winter Village, Noël Montréal and Vancouver Christmas Market are activated by Interac's service provider, Proof Experiences Inc. Transparent out-of-home at the markets and window decals at local businesses extend the campaign execution to frame real-time HolidayLife moments.

Wain Choi, Executive Creative Director, Zulu Alpha Kilo, said: "We wanted to build on the personal storytelling we launched this spring, while adding a bit of humour to get Canadians thinking about the role Interac can play in enabling them to stay in control of their money as they pay for holiday purchases and experiences."

The HolidayLife campaign runs until December 31, 2021. To learn more, visit Interac.ca.

About Interac
Interac Corp. empowers Canadians to access, spend and send funds whenever and from wherever they choose. With nearly 300 financial institutions connected to our network, we enable payment and ID experiences that support Canadians' accelerated use of safe and digital payments while prioritizing interoperability, security, privacy and inclusivity. We are proud to be one of Canada's leading and most trusted financial brands, with Canadians choosing Interac products an average of 18 million times a day to pay and exchange money. Interac champions workplace culture and corporate citizenship based on the principles of responsibility, diversity and inclusion. For more information, visit In the Know. 

Interac and Interac e-Transfer are registered trade-marks and the Interac logo and InLife design are trade-marks of Interac Corp. Used under licence.

Credits
Client: Interac Corp.
Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Chief Creative Officer: Zak Mroueh
Executive Creative Director: Wain Choi
Creative Directors: Vic Bath, Dan Cummings
Senior Copywriter: Jane Murray
Art Director: Duncan Porter
Account Team: Alyssa Guttman, Alexa Macdonald, Kara Oddi
Strategy: Maxine Thomas, Spencer MacEachern
Digital Strategist: Patrick Henderson
Agency Broadcast Producer: Revital Grunberg
Agency Integrated Producers: Laura Dubcovsky, Jason Pearson
Studio Artists: Cecilia Bernasch, Jim Tinios
Clients: Andrea Danovitch, Matt Houghton, Meghan Jeffery, Leslie Vera, Rachel Kellogg, Chingtien Chang
Production House: Skin and Bones
Director: Mike Andrews
Executive Producer: Joan Bell
Production House Line Producer: Luke Bryant
Director of Photography: Todd Duym
Post-Production Company Offline & Online: Zulubot
Editors: Jessie Posthumus, Max Lawlor
Compositors/Online Artists: Alex Boothby, Felipe Chaparro
Zulubot Post Producers: Lauren Schell, Adam Palmer
Transfer/Colourist: Alter Ego ? Wade Odlum
Alter Ego Post Producers: Producer ? Spencer Butt; Executive Producer ? Hilda Pereira
Audio: Vapor Music
Audio/Voice Director: Brendan Quinn
Audio Producers: Kailee Nowosad, Alyssa Sinclair
Audio Engineer: Julian Rudd
Stills Photography: KMZ
Stills Photographer: Norman Wong
Stills Executive Producer: Kathi Ziolkowski
Media Agency: Media Experts
Media Agency Team: Richard Ivey, Keaton Dale, Elizabeth Clarke-Joyce, MacKenzie McNevin, Matthew Traynor, Valentina Pranjic
Experiential Agency: Proof
PR Agency: Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada
Digital Content Agency: SJR
Sponsorship & PR Team: Daria Hill, James Monaghan, Adrienne Vaughan, Peter Seney
French Agency: The French Shop
Agency Producer: Geneviève Boyer
Account Team: Émilie Maranda, Gabrielle Papineau, Andréanne Laroche
Creative: Joëlle Fournier, Gwenaëlle Clément-Gagnon
French Audio House: Lamajeure

^{____________________________________
1} Up to two (2) gifts per attendee, with proof of purchase from a vendor at the Distillery Winter Village using Interac Debit.

SOURCE Interac Corp.