Branded content drives 25% lift in financial service consideration

Subtle storytelling, scalable impact

By employing Bell Media’s Streets to Screens initiative, this financial services brand extended the reach of its out-of-home campaign by virtually placing branded billboards into fictional scenes across three episodes of Bell Media’s original programming. The same creative also appeared in OOH formats and was amplified through targeted radio, creating a seamless brand journey that followed consumers from the street to their screens.

Using Bell First Party Data, the brand identified a high-value audience of financial intenders. This enabled smarter targeting and greater influence across each media channel, ensuring consistent messaging wherever the audience engaged.

While measurement focused on the virtual product placement, the virtual integration played a key role in reinforcing campaign continuity and deepening audience connection. Executed entirely in post-production, the virtual placement allowed the brand to appear naturally in premium content without disrupting the storyline or filming process.

Viewers responded positively, describing the integration as “realistic,” “non-disruptive,” and “innovative.” The approach proved especially effective at capturing attention and building emotional connection—particularly among younger and higher-income audiences.

Virtual placement, real results

A subtle on-screen presence led to significant gains in recall, relevance, and consideration. Compared to the control group, exposed viewers showed meaningful brand gains:

• 77% agreed the integration was not distracting
• 68% agreed the integration felt natural within the show
• 60% of exposed viewers noticed the brand
• 42% preferred integrated branding over traditional ads
• 31% have a positive opinion of the brand (vs. 19% control)
• 25% said they would consider the brand for financial services (vs. 12% control)
• 21% would recommend the brand (vs. 9% control)
• 19% unaided brand recall (vs. 7% control)

Conclusion

This campaign demonstrated the impact of integrated storytelling across Bell Media platforms. Using Bell First Party Data and virtual product placement, the brand engaged high-intent audiences with relevant messaging in premium content. The result: meaningful lifts in awareness, favourability, and consideration.

Source: YouGov Canada Brand Lift Study conducted in partnership with Bell Media. Results based on exposed vs. control group methodology.