Canon Encourages Us to ‘Live Life for The Story’ in Striking Sensory Campaign

Canon has launched 'Live for the story', an entirely new brand proposition for the consumer and professional imaging business across Europe, in a bid to shift perception of the company amongst a younger audience.

The fully integrated, through-the-line campaign, which launches across 19 European markets, sees Canon’s new brand proposition take centre stage across all communications. ‘Live for the story’ encourages people to find special memories in all moments of their life, no matter where they are or what they are doing. 

The VCCP team who sourced the track relied on the expertise of Music Supervisor Chris Phelps at Finger Music, who secured the licensing for Mikey Mike’s motivational track. Having executed bespoke musical solutions for companies and brands for well over a decade, Finger Music was well-positioned to negotiate the terms.

Chris Phelps, Music Supervisor at Finger Music, comments: “This is an example of when the perfect combination of both visual and audio elements can make a commercial feel like the beginning of a feature film. Everyone fell in love with the track and we were determined to get it licenced for the spot. The biggest challenge was securing the artist, who, at the time, was only newly signed. With both parties thrilled with the final result, Mikey Mike’s record label have gone on to build a full story around the track itself which is a great result for both brand and artist.”

As part of the launch Canon is looking for someone to travel the world, identifying 365 global stories. The PR and Social campaign, entitled ‘365 Days of Summer’, will be led by famous storyteller, Zoë Kravitz. Supported by CRM for both existing and new audiences, fans are being encouraged to share their stories of summer using the hashtag #LiveForTheStory to be in with a chance of winning.

“Remaining relevant in an industry that is constantly shifting and evolving is exciting, and something we are embracing to enable us to reach a younger audience”, said Lee Bonniface, Canon Senior Director – CIG Marketing. “Here at Canon we offer so much more than just photography. We print memories, we save memories and we help to make memories with apps such as Lifecake. 

“Experiences are what matters and this is where our focus is. ‘Live for the story’ has been developed to inspire people to do just that. Through every element of Canon's repositioning we are encouraging people to be ready to capture stories they are creating every day.”

The integrated re-launch is rolling out across TV, DOOH, Cinema, CRM, Retail, VOD, PR, media partnerships and Social. Every touchpoint that Canon’s customers will come into contact with now heroes the ‘Live for the story’ proposition, including the website and all ecommerce. Led by London-based agencies VCCP and PHD, the campaign features real-life scenarios created to intrigue viewers to want to know more about the story behind the picture.