Manulife Canada is putting its focus on small, accessible and memorable health goals as it looks to enhance its functional marketing with the addition of emotional and educational elements.

The creative for Manulife’s first national brand campaign since 2017, made in collaboration with longtime AOR Oliver, encourages a proactive approach to health by highlighting the benefits of everyday activities such as petting animals, doodling on a blank page or kissing a loved one.

Jennifer Bairos Hofer, AVP of brand and content marketing at Manulife Canada, tells strategy that the work serves as an emotional capper to the product marketing the company has been rolling out in recent years around features such as its Manulife Vitality rewards program and partnerships with Aeroplan and the Cleveland Clinic Canada.

“This is really about communicating and highlighting our role as a partner in Canadians’ health that’s additive to all the work that’s already happening, from a product perspective,” Hofer says. “So this is really acting as sort of that connective tissue across all of the different campaigns and work and products that are already ongoing in the market.”

Hofer says the campaign’s suggested health activities were selected to surprise consumers and stand out in their simplicity along with their scientific efficacy with regards to wellness. Advertisements have been targeted to promote action in consumers while they’re scrolling or even listening to ASMR podcasts on Spotify.

“It needed to feel integrated into where people already were and also so it could stand out among some of the noise that already exists in the market,” Hofer says. “We wanted to make sure that whatever sort of idea that we’re presenting in front of Canadians felt authentic and felt doable.

The campaign features OOH, audio ads, OLV and connect TV, social media and digital banners in a rollout that will run through October.

Manulife’s internal insights team will be working with London-based market-research firm Kantar throughout the length of the campaign to measure its effects on brand KPIs, Hofer says.

Campaign creative, strategy and production were developed by Oliver and the media buy was handled in house by Manulife.