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Group745
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Group745
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Group745
Creative in association withGear Seven
Group745

OLG Gets Back on Track to Support Horse Racing as Ontario Reopens

13/07/2020
Advertising Agency
Toronto, Canada
78
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Digital campaign developed by Juniper Park\TBWA highlights how racing fans can reconnect with the sport online

As with many professional sports, the start of the horse racing season in Ontario was put on hold due to Covid-19. As the province cautiously developed reopening plans, horse racing was able to resume, with minimal staff at the tracks in strict observance of social distancing guidelines – and for the first time, without live fan attendance.

Instead of visiting the track to watch racing, fans would be able to livestream the action on Woodbine Entertainment Group’s HPIBET website or its newly launched Dark Horse mobile app, through which they could also place wagers. It would mark the first time in Ontario’s history that the horse racing season would be viewed by fans virtually.

With this in mind, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) decided they needed a digital-first campaign for Ontario Racing that would get racing fans to the online and mobile destinations where they could reconnect with the sport. The goal was to communicate that live racing had resumed – and also – nod to an active racing industry being part of Ontario’s overall economic recovery.

It was imperative that OLG move quickly though. With most sports leagues remaining inactive through most of the summer, there was a narrow window of time for horse racing to help fill a void for fans that were missing live sports entertainment.

Working with Toronto creative agency, Juniper Park\TBWA, OLG, on behalf of Ontario Racing, created a mix of disruptive, no-nonsense six-second pre-roll, 15-second digital audio on Spotify, digital display and social posts to drive sports fans with an interest in wagering to a freshly redesigned Ontario Racing website. There, viewers would be introduced to HPIBET and Dark Horse, with easy instructions on how to access each platform. The website was designed by Le Parc Design, the bespoke design studio backed by Juniper Park\TBWA. 

The latest campaign and work is a definitive example of how businesses must pivot in order to meet the unique challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. In resuming live horse racing without fans in attendance and offering wagering and streaming online, the horse racing industry found its pivot – to help return some sense of normalcy to sports fans by allowing them to once again take in the thrill of live sport.


Credits
Work from Juniper Park\TBWA
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