Paying for school is never fun, but Scotiabank and Studentawards.com have partnered to make learning about it more entertaining with a new series of online videos. “Both series, developed with creative services by Empirical Inc., are designed to look as though they were shot in someone’s home.”

The videos were created in support of the Scotiabank Line of Credit Adventures Contest, a promotional tool for Scotiabank’s student loan program. The contest debuted this week on FundYourFuture.ca, and runs until Oct. 30.

Targeting students, soon-to-be-students and their parents, the contest offers users the chance to win 1 of 12 $1,000 prizes, awarded via a Scotiabank line of credit. To enter, students must apply for a Scotiabank Scotialine student line of credit. A prompt to the videos appears under the contest branding, asking students if they are unsure of how they are going to pay for school and invites them to view the videos to learn more.

There are two series to choose from, each featuring a primary character in a different phase of their university career. One is just starting school and wondering how to pay for it, while the other is making his way through school on a budget. Both series, developed with creative services by Toronto-based Empirical, are designed to look as though they were shot in someone’s home.

‘The goal was to really try and leverage video,’ Studentawards.com VP account management Tessa Mintz tells MiC. ‘We know that YouTube’s Canadian consumption is huge, and the idea was to show two typical students on their journey to post-secondary education at two points in their lives…in a really fun way.’

The two companies have a history of working together – FundYourFuture.ca is an ongoing partnership – but this is the first time they have created online videos. Scotiabank branding is integrated across the site, the video player and contest promotions, which will appear on all Studentawards.com properties, including site member emails and e-newsletters, banners and the company’s social media sites on Facebook and Twitter. Scotiabank student loan customers will also be directed to the contest via the bank’s student loan site.

www.fundyourfuture.ca   
www.studentawards.ca