Canon has a long tradition of high-quality photography equipment. However, as the professional camera market became increasingly saturated, competitive and fast-paced, Canon struggled to keep up. The brand had lost its momentum. It started to feel outdated and was missing the edge of today’s zeitgeist.

Canon wanted a more modern and bold brand strategy for the Nordics. This was our chance to awaken the giant and appeal to professional photographers in a way that would truly speak to them.

The following objectives were set:

--Reconnect with professional photographers

--Leverage them to entice a broader audience (semi-professionals)

--Infuse Canon with a new sense of purpose

--Spark a cultural conversation

The Truthmark project became a new way for Canon to engage with some of the most awarded photographers in the world. Making them a catalyst for our brand and establishing a broader conversation about the influence of photography in culture.

Photographers are losing credibility because their images are being misused to fuel fake news stories. Fake news is spreading faster than real news, and social media giants won’t regulate their platforms’ misinformation.

This is a threat to democracy – and to photography. As a leading camera brand, Canon took a stand and championed truthtelling in photography.

That's why we created Truthmark – a global database created to stop misuse of images by letting photographers attach their true story with a digital fingerprint. Making sure that whenever their images travel the world, the true story will follow.

The digital fingerprint ensures image recognition even if the image has been cropped or manipulated.

The PR strategy was built on two tracks:

--A Nordic track offering interviews with famous Norwegian photojournalist, Johnny Haglund.

--An International track offering interviews with Pulitzer price and World Press Photo-winner, Ivor Prickett.

From a carefully selected media list, the media in each Nordic country received localized press releases aiming to place interviews with hero-photographers and bring the message through the media to the public. Each media list was built from bigger daily news and trade.

The key message: "new initiative aims to reduce press photos in fake news" was presented in the press release talking about how press photos have been used to fuel fake news.

After the distribution of press releases, we followed up with tier-1 media, to secure bigger articles in each Nordic country.

The Nordic Campaign was also shared with international media aiming to tap into the subject of fake news globally offering an actual solution.

We launched a beta version of the site aimed at selected Canon ambassadors.

The initiative was activated by three world-renowned and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers, who had their images misused, encouraging other photographers to join the fight.

The website/digital utility ran alongside campaign visuals and a video for social media starring the three hero-photographers, who all had their images misused.

The campaign assets and website were launched on 23.07.20.

The campaign assets are still live, and the database will continue to exist and grow as an ongoing initiative against fake news and the misuse of images.

What started as a regional initiative in the Nordics quickly turned into worldwide action as the international press picked up the tool – making Canon relevant within the pro community.

The database continues to grow, and new possible extensions and collaborations unfolding - make the scale grow day by day.

Truthmark was first targeted towards Canon photographers but opened up, and the initiative has received an immediate response from the photographic community.

The database now features images from photographers in countries all over the world including Israel, Russia, and The United States.

The initiative also caught the eye of photographers and international media and is endorsed and recommended by the Press Photographers Association.

The newly launched R5 and R6 cameras from Canon's pro range received immediate attention upon launch, and Canon became relevant to a target group they had neglected.

Key results:

50+ million reached

15+ million views

100+ international media pick-ups

Marketshare increased from 26% to 33,5%

Sales index: 172 (Year-on-Year)

In 2018 Canon introduced their first mirrorless camera. By the end of 2020 Canon was number one in the mirrorless category for the first time.