2025 Winner
BronzeBest in Niche Targeting
TD
"Student Line of Credit - We Got You"
Starcom
"Student Line of Credit - We Got You"
Starcom
Future doctors, dentists, and vets represent some of the most sought-after customers in banking.
They're ambitious, high-earning, and loyal for life. But with just 6,000 new MDV students entering Canadian programs each year, and within days of getting in, they’re forced to make major financial decisions that can shape the rest of their careers. That’s exactly when TD needed to show up.
These students weren’t just facing tuition. They were facing crushing debt. 83% graduates owe money, and the number of students carrying over $200K jumped 33% in two years.
They found a crack in the moment. Acceptance season is meant to be joyful, but it's immediately followed by stress and financial fear.
“Getting in” is emotional, but figuring out how to pay for it is overwhelming. That’s where TD could show up, not just as a lender, but as a partner who sees their future, not just their finances.
Their big idea was to let their audience know: “You got this. And we got you”.
A message of belief, not just banking. The agency set out to meet students in the moment their dreams became real, with media that celebrated their win and solved their next problem.
With under 90 days to make an impact, they launched full-funnel, precision-targeted media that mirrored how students actually discover and decide. On TikTok and YouTube, they tapped into the emotional "I got in!" trend, transforming ads into content that felt native, human, and shareable. Their creative didn’t interrupt their scroll; it joined their moment.
Then, they followed their journey — high-intent media, Reddit, contextual display, met students where they sought answers, driving directly to a landing page built for speed and appointment booking.
And in a breakthrough move, TD became the first and only bank to activate Canada’s national student housing network, placing the brand inside dorms and residences, where peer trust meets decision-making.
All channels laddered up to one goal: guide students confidently from "I got in" to "I'm ready."
This was more than a media plan; it was a re-entry strategy.
With no existing presence and zero room for error, the agency used media as the lead lever to make TD relevant again, fast.
They were the first-to-market in Canada’s student housing network, bridging paid media with peer credibility in a space no other bank had touched. Cultural insight meet funnel compression and they didn’t just trendjack the “acceptance moment” they built their campaign around it, using real behaviour as the launchpad for both awareness and conversion.
Every channel was chosen with intent, built to reflect how Gen Z discovers (TikTok), researches (Reddit), and acts (appointment booking).
In just 90 days, they turned a gap into an edge. Innovation wasn’t tech for tech’s sake, it was relevance, speed, and empathy, delivered with surgical media focus.
This campaign didn’t just perform. It flipped the competitive hierarchy.
They achieved and far exceeded their goals. The campaign garnered 58% year-over-year growth in marketing-driven new accounts, 433% year-over-year live and online appointments booked (13,000+), and 107% year-over-year growth in marketing-driven funded SLOC deals.
TD also achieved a category-defining milestone with the #1 organic share of voice among students, overtaking RBC for the first time.
Media drove performance at every level, delivering strong results across channels: Reddit achieved a CPA of $18.84 with 1,146 app completions, while TikTok generated 28 million impressions with a CTR nearly twice the benchmark. DV360 delivered 5,289 conversions, demonstrating programmatic efficiency, and YouTube (ZEFR) drove 908,000 video completions at a 9.5% rate, showing high engagement in cookieless environments. Additionally, OOH delivered 10.2 million impressions, building both cultural and physical visibility.
TD didn’t just rejoin the conversation; they owned it.
And they did it by showing up for students, not just with a product, but with purpose.
They're ambitious, high-earning, and loyal for life. But with just 6,000 new MDV students entering Canadian programs each year, and within days of getting in, they’re forced to make major financial decisions that can shape the rest of their careers. That’s exactly when TD needed to show up.
These students weren’t just facing tuition. They were facing crushing debt. 83% graduates owe money, and the number of students carrying over $200K jumped 33% in two years.
They found a crack in the moment. Acceptance season is meant to be joyful, but it's immediately followed by stress and financial fear.
“Getting in” is emotional, but figuring out how to pay for it is overwhelming. That’s where TD could show up, not just as a lender, but as a partner who sees their future, not just their finances.
Their big idea was to let their audience know: “You got this. And we got you”.
A message of belief, not just banking. The agency set out to meet students in the moment their dreams became real, with media that celebrated their win and solved their next problem.
With under 90 days to make an impact, they launched full-funnel, precision-targeted media that mirrored how students actually discover and decide. On TikTok and YouTube, they tapped into the emotional "I got in!" trend, transforming ads into content that felt native, human, and shareable. Their creative didn’t interrupt their scroll; it joined their moment.
Then, they followed their journey — high-intent media, Reddit, contextual display, met students where they sought answers, driving directly to a landing page built for speed and appointment booking.
And in a breakthrough move, TD became the first and only bank to activate Canada’s national student housing network, placing the brand inside dorms and residences, where peer trust meets decision-making.
All channels laddered up to one goal: guide students confidently from "I got in" to "I'm ready."
This was more than a media plan; it was a re-entry strategy.
With no existing presence and zero room for error, the agency used media as the lead lever to make TD relevant again, fast.
They were the first-to-market in Canada’s student housing network, bridging paid media with peer credibility in a space no other bank had touched. Cultural insight meet funnel compression and they didn’t just trendjack the “acceptance moment” they built their campaign around it, using real behaviour as the launchpad for both awareness and conversion.
Every channel was chosen with intent, built to reflect how Gen Z discovers (TikTok), researches (Reddit), and acts (appointment booking).
In just 90 days, they turned a gap into an edge. Innovation wasn’t tech for tech’s sake, it was relevance, speed, and empathy, delivered with surgical media focus.
This campaign didn’t just perform. It flipped the competitive hierarchy.
They achieved and far exceeded their goals. The campaign garnered 58% year-over-year growth in marketing-driven new accounts, 433% year-over-year live and online appointments booked (13,000+), and 107% year-over-year growth in marketing-driven funded SLOC deals.
TD also achieved a category-defining milestone with the #1 organic share of voice among students, overtaking RBC for the first time.
Media drove performance at every level, delivering strong results across channels: Reddit achieved a CPA of $18.84 with 1,146 app completions, while TikTok generated 28 million impressions with a CTR nearly twice the benchmark. DV360 delivered 5,289 conversions, demonstrating programmatic efficiency, and YouTube (ZEFR) drove 908,000 video completions at a 9.5% rate, showing high engagement in cookieless environments. Additionally, OOH delivered 10.2 million impressions, building both cultural and physical visibility.
TD didn’t just rejoin the conversation; they owned it.
And they did it by showing up for students, not just with a product, but with purpose.
Credits
MEDIA AGENCYMegan Lubberts – Vice President, Media Planning
Nicolle Williams – Account Director, Media Planning
Manon Hug – Manager, Media Planning
Associate Director, Programmatic – Shezad Sarkari
Dexter Modeste - Supervisor, OOH
Tanuj Joshi – Director, Social
Cathy Lam – Social Specialist
CLIENT
Global Chief Marketing Officer: Tyrrell Schmidt
Chief Marketing Officer, Canada: Maja Neable
VP Marketing – Credit Cards and Personal Lending: Catharine Kitchen
AVP Marketing – Personal Lending: Sarah Green
Senior Manager Personal Lending – Marianna Ciocio
Integrated Marketing Planner – Lisa Palumbo
Manager, Paid Digital – Andrea Enzo Palmieri
CREATIVE AGENCY
Creative Director - Chris McGroarty
Associate Creative Director - Rodger Eyre
Copywriter - Tim Das
Art Director - Simon Tuplin
Senior Manager, Brand Strategy - Claudine Bergeron
PRODUCTION AGENCY
VP, Post Production - Nick Haffie Emslie
Executive Producer (Lead) - Anup Rao
Director - Sebastian Hill-Esbrand
DOP - Alice Stephens
Producer - Rachel Souza
Production Manager - Myrthin Stagg
Production Design - Thomas Hart
Styling - Cassandra Phillips-Grande
Location Sound- Ivan Zharov
Editing Company - VMG Cinematic
Editor - Steph Leite
Photographer - Aaron Wynia
Audio House - VMG Cinematic
Sound Director - Brett Killoran
Colour - Adam Kemp
Executive Producer - Anup Rao