Keeping Safety On the Water In the Public Eye
Pattison’s Amanda Headon, Account Executive and Sandy D’Amico, National Sales Manager receiving their CASBA award from Barbara Byers, CSBCPattison Outdoor Advertising (Pattison) has had a long-standing association with water safety, with a 15-year plus partnership with the Lifesaving Society. But 2012 was a particularly special year, with Pattison playing a major role in spreading the message about boating safety in cities all across Canada. The Canadian Safe Boating Council is pleased to present Pattison with a Special Recognition Award for its significant contribution to boating safety. The partnership started with the Lifesaving Society, which has benefited for several years from Pattison’s donation of media space. The Society pays only a small percentage of the cost of its media plan, with Pattison providing considerable bonus media space. Pattison has consistently over-delivered on its commitment to providing five times the media space against the purchased media. Over the years, the company has donated well over 10 times the purchased media space, a major contribution to reaching the public with safety messages.
The partnership expanded in 2012. The Lifesaving Society partnered with the Canadian Safe Boating Council and Smartboater.ca to develop a poster campaign to promote lifejacket wear, launching a mallbillboard campaign in May 2012. Pattison was contracted to provide media exposure in mall billboards in six provinces, but went well above and beyond. Through Pattison’s contribution, the national mall billboard campaign had an expansive reach, encompassing 22 cities. Pattison’s donated media space for the campaign was valued at more than $450,000, providing repeated and continuing exposure to lifejacket wear messages to the Canadian public.
As well as its generous donation of media space, Pattison donated the creative talent and expertise to develop four poster concepts for research testing, along with the end product. The expertise of the Pattison’s creative team was invaluable and the firm’s contribution of creative and production resources was worth tens of thousands of dollars.
The eventual total of donated time is expected to be higher, because historically Pattison keeps posters in place for months after the campaign ends. The billboard campaign contributed in a significant way to the overall promotion and was visible from coast to coast throughout the boating season. The billboards provided a combination of boating safety messaging to the public and a call to action to learn more. Our warmest thanks and appreciation to Pattison Outdoor Advertising for their continuing support in reaching Canadians the way they do best, and keeping safety on the water in the public eye and consciousness.
