The level of debt in Canada is at an all-time high, totalling $505 billion. One out of eight Canadian households are heavily indebted. The current estimate is that the average Canadian owes $28,853 in non-mortgage debt. All this debt creates a lot of stress.
Dependency on credit cards is one of the main contributors. People overextend themselves on credit until they feel financially out of control.
Interac gives Canadians a way to pay with their own money using debit. By reaching for their Interac card instead of their credit card more often, Canadians can start to reverse this negative trend of accumulating debt.
Interac was losing share of mind and share of pocket to credit cards. The brand needed to do something to reverse this trend. So in 2014, the brand worked with Zulu Alpha Kilo to launch its "Be in the Black" brand campaign, which was rooted in the idea that life is better when you use your own money.
The following year, however, Interac wanted to go one step further and give Canadians a tool to help them break the habit of credit card usage. Why? Because it is scientifically proven that behaviour is habitual and can be incredibly hard to break.
Interac's objectives were two-fold: to drive awareness of the "21 Day Credit-Free Challenge" through owned, earned and media channels, as well as engage Canadians in participating in the "21 Day Credit-Free Challenge" through campaign assets.
Research shows it takes 21 days to break a habit or form a new one. So through the Interac "21-Day Credit Free Challenge," the brand and agency encouraged Canadians to put their credit cards aside for 21 days.
They teamed up with reality TV star Gail Vaz-Oxlade to launch an online content program to help wean Canadians off their credit card addiction. As one of Canada's most well-known personal financial experts and the star of Slice's "Til Debt Do Us Part," Gail was the perfect voice for the program. For the Quebec market, the brand chose French Canadian financial expert, Fabien Major to star in the program.
The program included 23 pieces of bite-sized video content including an introduction to the challenge, a video for each day of the challenge, and a closing congratulatory message. Videos presented tips and tricks for living debt-free – from separating needs from wants to avoiding unwanted automatic increases in credit card interest rates. Participants in the challenge also received daily payment behaviour advice from Gail and Fabien.
The challenge was promoted with limited paid social and digital media, blogger support and Twitter Lead Gen cards, and tapped into Gail and Fabien's engaged fan base.
The 21-day challenge exceeded objectives and paved the way for future online content initiatives. Daily emails had an average open rate of 41%, with video content delivering an average completion rate of 93%. Ultimately it helped over 4,000 Canadians take control of their finances, beat bad habits, and go on to live a little happier, less stressful life. The challenge also sparked a national conversation on social media with over 1.9 million impressions from the campaign hashtag.