Thinking Inside the Box: What PR Professionals Can Learn About TD’s Fractional Shares Campaign

By: Siena Vitucci, PRLab Account Supervisor

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Working in PR requires us to constantly think outside the box to cut through the noise of a never-ending stream of newsworthy events, advertisements, and social media. With so many marketing professionals thinking outside the box, TD Bank had their work cut out for them when they had to find a way to advertise their fractional investment capabilities in early 2025. They wanted to share this message with their audience by showcasing the popular brands people could invest in, but including brand logos in their advertisements was not an option due to strict copyright laws which could lead to legal issues. 

Their solution pushed the boundaries of creativity and copyright law, all based on the idea of working inside the box, in a very literal way– ultimately yielding positive traction and results. Here's how: 

The background:

TD Bank Group worked with Ogilvy Canada to create a pop-up ad campaign in May 2025 showcasing their Fractional Investment capabilities. Fractional Investment allows investors to add top-performing stocks to their portfolio for as little as $1, making investment in brands that are otherwise expensive per share more accessible. 

The solution: 

This professional campaign titled 'Fractional Window Shopping' was created for TD Bank, by ad agency: Ogilvy Canada.

TD and Ogilvy Canada created a universal billboard design with a square cut into it that onlookers could see through. Each billboard was strategically placed in front of storefronts so that on the other side of the square, a fraction of a brand’s real logo was visible, conveying their option to purchase fractional shares of these companies. Aside from the fraction of the logo showing through, the TD Green billboard is nearly blank aside from the words “own a fraction of it” beside the logo window. The bottom of the billboard describes their partial shares investment option briefly.   

Why it works:

• Legally sound

  • Perhaps the most obvious reason this campaign was so clever was because they found a way to showcase the brands people could invest in while avoiding copyright law issues. Because the billboard itself is entirely green, they aren’t really using any logos without permission. 

• Universal

  • This use of existing storefront logos also meant TD’s team only had to create one billboard deliverable which saves time and money, making the campaign recognizable while still showcasing a wide variety of brands

  • Their copyrighted color is used as a background for the mostly blank billboard. Leveraging a brand’s color, especially when paired with its logo, makes a brand more recognizable to onlookers. TD executed this perfectly.

• Clever wordplay 

  • The campaign slogan “Own a piece of it” next to the window revealing a fraction of a real logo offers a clear call to action. The mostly blank billboard shows how simplicity can be an asset when you want to convert awareness into action.

What we wan learn:

College gives us a unique opportunity to work, make connections, and pursue pre-professional opportunities that develop skills that will ultimately make us competitive candidates. We have the agency to take advantage of our environments and opportunities, and approach the challenging job market with resilience instead of fear. Rather than focusing solely on traditional internships or positions with communications in the title, students can look for opportunities to build skills, gain experience, and demonstrate value. I hope this has been a helpful and insightful look into the communications job market, and I wish everyone the best as they take the next steps in their careers.