Crime Doesn’t Pay

Background

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) was perceived by students as Canada's corporate bank – staunchly conservative, the bluest of the blue suits, the old peoples’ bank. As a result, students were increasingly signing up with competitor banks. So if RBC had any hope of attracting students, they had to talk to them in a relevant way, showing they understood the challenges of student life.

Idea

The campaign was based on one very strong insight: that students are poor, so they tend to take things like rolls of toilet paper, lightbulbs, condiments, and room-mates’ clothes. They never think of it as stealing – but technically it’s petty theft. This led to the campaign Idea 'Crime Doesn't Pay. Our Free Banking Does'. A fake law-enforcement agency, the CIAAA (Campus Investigations And Apprehension Agency), was out to catch these petty thieves. But students had another option: to sign up for RBC’s fee-free banking. Implemented in all major Canadian universities, the campaign involved multiple touchpoints, getting to students wherever they were. An online element began with a viral movie on YouTube and Facebook that introduced students to the CIAAA – and their mission to wipe out petty crime. Offline, a collection of WANTED posters were posted by the CIAAA around campuses and placed in student newspapers. Ambient activity was also employed during campus orientation festivities.

Meanwhile, 'lost' CIAAA evidence bags containing toilet paper, condiments or even socks were peppered all over campus. Students brought them to the RBC booth for a reward. At the RBC booth, students could 'fess up' for a lighter sentence, which meant lining up to have their police mugshot taken. The mugshots served as a reminder that 'Crime doesn’t pay'. Students could then visit the website, where they were able to download their own WANTED poster, as well as emailing it to friends. Nowhere were students safe from the eye of the CIAAA. Even in washrooms, mirrors were made to look like prison bars. The message? 'Helping yourself to toilet paper or soap? Just a reminder that crime doesn’t pay.'

Results

The activity was RBC’s most successful student campaign ever, far exceeding their aggressive sales target. As well as signing up for new accounts, thousands of students signed up with RBC on Facebook – showing how much they identified with the campaign and parodiying it with their own online content. The campaign also generated nationwide media coverage, including a full-page article in the Business pages of the influencial National Post, a full write-up in Strategy Magazine, and online news blogs.

Target Audience

University and college students across the country

Size

Nationwide to all major universities

Our Thoughts

A nice insight into how students survive by petty pilfering. The print work was a bit of a mess but I loved the mugshots taken on campus which students could then download from the website and send to friends or print and hang as a poster. A great example, in fact, of how everyone's favourite subject is themselves and why you should try your damnedest to get your prospects interacting with the idea. SH