• by Les Luchter , May 17, 2024

Big Fran, a highly sociable yet reclusive sasquatch, has been tapped by Casino Time to promote its new online gaming experience for Ontario residents.

Why a sasquatch?

To comply with government regulations, the launch campaign needed to “ensure that we weren’t selling the idea that gaming equals winning,” Leah Whitney, executive creative director at the Sister Merci agency, tells Marketing Daily. Instead, the campaign would emphasize Casino Time’s social gaming aspect.

That’s where Big Fran fit in nicely.

“We built the campaign around the notion that wherever you are in Ontario, you can enjoy social connection while you play,” Whitney says. “That means even the most remote players can satisfy the need for human interaction.

“The focus on gaming with others was essential in our creative and strategic thinking, because who needs socialization more than the world’s most mythical recluse?”

Even if one of the players is in a cave, as shown in these :30, :15 and :10 spots.

The new platform, affiliated with 10 physical charitable gaming venues across the province, is using Big Fran in advertising running through mid-December that includes broadcast TV and radio, connected TV, digital display, social display (Instagram, Facebook), influencer partnerships, and a range of out-of-home elements: transit shelters, bike share stations, and newly developed digital table toppers in restaurants and bars.

Those table toppers, from media technology supplier Roar Communications, consist of high-quality screens fixed on dining tables and bar areas. explains Tim Beach, vice president media at Casino Time’s media agency Blue Noise Studios. The units can display changing messages, offers and QR integrations, the latter of which “is perfect for an iGaming target audience,” Beach says.

In late summer, Big Fran is set to emerge from their cave to attend local festivals and participate in experiential activations in the Toronto market and in communities where the affiliated charitable gaming venues are located.