RBC is diversifying its media strategy to launch its latest campaign, which celebrates its partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee. That partnership has helped current and retired Olympic and Paralympic athletes succeed in their sporting careers and beyond.
The campaign highlights the commitment of the talent identification and funding program RBC Training Ground – the centerpiece of the partnership’s expansion – to ensure that all athletes have access to the Olympic dream. The creative focuses not on athletes who have made it to the Olympics, but instead on those who have yet to be discovered.
The media plan includes presence on Tiktok, Snapchat and Meta; advertising on Bell Media Digital through affiliated networks; Youtube, Crave TV, TSN App, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Twitch and Quebecor. There will also be OOH static and digital ads primarily on college campuses.
Initiative led media planning and Stellick Marketing Communications supports with earned media efforts. Salt XC led the creative strategy and execution.
“The intent is that young Canadians can relate to these individuals and identify RBC Training Ground as an approachable next step to see where their raw athletic talent could take them,” Shannon Cole, chief brand officer at RBC, tells MiC. “The juxtaposition of ‘they see’ and ‘we see’ language provides RBC an opportunity to reinforce the program’s unrivaled uniqueness and our differentiated perspective. Additionally, the ‘see/being seen’ language aims to tap into the basic human want/need of being understood – as oneself and for one’s potential.”
Given that their target audience is young Canadians, Cole says they have invested most of their media plan in digital channels, as opposed to past campaigns that focused more on OOH. Overall, the campaign aims to increase its reach by leveraging a more diverse digital media mix than ever before, in keeping with its goal of trying to reach a broader group of young Canadians, she says.
“Our target audience has been consistent over the past few campaigns for RBC Training Ground, so we’ve been able to see results from previous media plans and see what is effective, while identifying emerging trends of channels where we can reach young Canadians,” Cole adds.
Young Canadians, according to her, are not only a key demographic for RBC Training Ground, but for many of RBC’s business and brand initiatives. RBC Training Ground has had success with this demographic. In fact, the brand saw “all-time highs” in program awareness among the 18- to 24-year-olds following the 2024 Olympics.
“Our 2025 RBC Training Ground campaign is complementary to our previous campaigns where we have established the power of RBC Training Ground in making the idea of an Olympic dream happen,” Cole explains. “However, there is a subtle evolution in this campaign that is even more approachable and relatable. We understand that for some, the idea of chasing an Olympic dream can be daunting, so they may feel intimidated to imagine themselves in that position. This campaign reinforces that we see young Canadians for who they are right at this moment.”
In its tenth year, RBC Training Ground has tested more than 16,000 athletes across Canada, and national partner sport organizations have identified more than 3,000 athletes with Olympic potential (many in a sport they had never considered). Twenty-one RBC Training Ground alumni have competed in three Olympic Games.
