BMO Business Carols: Move Over Mariah

For most underrepresented small businesses - owned by women, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC entrepreneurs - outshouting big-box competitors during the holiday season really isn’t an option. So taking a highly-unconventional approach, BMO and UM created an entirely new media channel by repurposing the bland background noise of classic Christmas carols and re-recording lyrics to promote these small businesses. Cleverly using paid, earned and owned media, they reworked the algorithm to stream Business Carols content during peak holiday shopping moments. This brilliant strategy drove 167,000 website visits and 10MM minutes of song streams, a 2.5x ROI, delivering visibility and sales for small businesses, outmaneuvering deep-pocketed competitors. Video Credit: FCB