January, 2015

Publication title: causeandaction.strategyonline.ca, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Unknown

Sun Life: Making the Arts More Accessible

1. Inspiration
Sun Life has a long history of supporting arts and culture in Canada. In 2004, with the belief that the arts should be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their means, we created our award-winning Making the Arts More Accessible (MTAMA) program – the focus of our philanthropic giving. It was determined that while Canadians were aware of our support of the arts, they were not aware of this specific program. In 2012, Paul Joliat, Assistant Vice-President, Philanthropy & Sponsorships attended a Sarah McLachlan concert, and remembered her speaking about the importance and impact of music in her life and that she had dreamed of opening a music school so at-risk and underserved children and youth could receive music instruction in a safe and nurturing environment and realize their full potential.

2. Strategy
Create a philanthropic initiative, which was national in scope, was sustainable, and had the potential for significant media interest and coverage to increase the national awareness of our MTAMA program.
Through research, it was determined that supporting the Sarah McLachlan School of Music (SoM) in Vancouver, a school dedicated to providing at-risk and underserved youth with free music education, would be aligned with our MTAMA strategy. Additional initiatives would be required however to leverage Sun Life’s support of the school to ensure national reach.

3. Execution
Through negotiations with Ms. McLachlan’s agent, a robust strategic partnership was developed. Sun Life donated $300,000 to the SoM (payable over three years) and during Ms. McLachlan’s 2014 tour, she supported Sun Life donations to three music schools across Canada. The partnership also included the opportunity for Sun Life to leverage personal appearances with Ms. McLachlan in future years to coincide with music school donations to be made by Sun Life.

The partnership kicked off with a large-scale media event in October at the SoM, including student performances, a cheque presentation and Ms. McLachlan speaking to reporters about the school and the impact of the donation. Subsequently, Sun Life and Ms. McLachlan created once-in-a-lifetime experiences for students of three different music schools in Calgary, Toronto and Moncton (donations totaling $100,000). Each school selected to be a donation recipient provided at-risk and under-served children and youth with highly subsidized or free music education, thus directly aligning with the MTAMA strategy. In Calgary and Moncton, students enjoyed a backstage tour and “meet and greet”. In Toronto, Ms. McLachlan visited the school. Sun Life provided complimentary concert tickets to students.
No agency was engaged for this initiative nor was media purchased. Sun Life’s media team pitched the stories, communicating that we were partnering with Ms. McLachlan during her tour and she was supporting our donations. A composite Sun Life and MTAMA program logo was created and used in all marketing initiatives throughout the program.

Renowned artist, David Arrigo, was commissioned to design and paint a co-branded Larivée guitar for presentation to the school.

4. Results
The success of this initiative is based on the unprecedented 137.8 million media impressions – the largest story for Sun Life, globally, in 2014. Media highlights include ET Canada, ETalk, morning shows and additional news programs, radio, print and online. This was the first time Sun Life’s MTAMA program has been covered by televised entertainment programs. Social media engagement was high with 35,296 impressions on Facebook and 90,904 Twitter impressions.

Media coverage included students, Ms. McLachlan and Sun Life representatives talking passionately about the importance of music, and the need for accessible education while highlighting Sun Life’s MTAMA program.

Demonstrating Ms. McLachlan’s engagement in the program, during her concert in Toronto, she spoke about Sun Life’s donation that she was a part of at the Regent Park School of Music (RPSM) and thrilled RPSM students by acknowledging them in the audience.

Sun Life’s donations enabled 140 at-risk children and youth to enroll in free or subsidized music programs. Media coverage raised the level of awareness of the schools, their programs, the impact in their communities and that additional funding is required to reduce waiting lists.
This program has truly highlighted the importance and need for funding, realizing the significant impact music can have on the lives of children and youth. Sun Life is committed to continuing its support, one donation at a time.