When it comes to scheduling meetings, Google has a very expansive sense of time. Without running into any trouble, you can schedule a meeting for a time in the past, and invitees can accept it. Home Equity Bank, in partnership with the Legion National Foundation, is exploiting this quirk to raise awareness, and funds, for veterans this Remembrance Day.

Together, with support from Zulu Alpha Kilo, they have launched Meetingwiththepast.com, a site that imagines what a day might look like for a soldier in a number of different conflicts.

“With all the meetings, appointments and deadlines, our schedules can feel overwhelming. Now, imagine what the day of a soldier looked like. From meetings with the enemy to calls for help, every hour could be dangerous or even life-threatening,” reads the site. Then it encourages visitors to click on a time slot to learn more about the event scheduled. On Jan. 6, 1915 at 10:30am is “Morphine Rounds,” for example.

“This is the sixth year that Zulu has had the opportunity to work with HomeEquity Bank supporting the Legion National Foundation’s Digital Poppy program,” explains Patti Ann Cochren, group account director at ZAK. “Every year we take a fresh approach, with the goal of developing a new campaign based on a contemporary insight, to make the sacrifices of our veterans feel less distant and more relatable.”

Home Equity Bank is using several touchpoints to get people to visit the website, and ultimately donate. There is a :30 TV spot running nationally for the duration of the Remembrance period to raise and maintain awareness of the campaign. According to Cochren, that ad is supplemented by a multi-faceted digital campaign to drive traffic to MeetingwithphePast.com. There will also be video and display ads across Meta, Google Performance Max and email marketing. Finally, HEB ambassador Pattie Lovett-Reid will be posting custom content around the campaign on Instagram as she is invited to a meeting in the past.

“HomeEquity Bank has been supporting the Legion National Foundation as presenting partner of the digital fundraiser since 2018, and are proud to serve Canada’s veterans and their families and to help keep their memories alive. With fewer than 10,000 [remaining] veterans in Canada from the Second World War and the Korean War and only 40% of Canadians having met a veteran of the World Wars, this support is even more vital,” says Cochren. “As HomeEquity Bank’s research revealed a desire for connection with the stories of the First and Second World Wars across all age groups, the campaign didn’t target a specific audience, but rather looked to reach as many Canadians as possible.”