Canadian Tire
"Ice Truck"
In Canada, freezing cold temperatures and winter weather from coast-to-coast puts drivers at a higher risk of becoming stranded due to a dead car battery. Canadian Tire decided to launch a campaign that would tie in a hero product, the MotoMaster Eliminator Ultra battery, as well as the brand's "Tested for Life in Canada" platform, which puts innovative products in the hands of Canadians to test for themselves.
The brand had a relatively modest PR budget, and the campaign needed to reach a demographic of 20 to 45-year-old men who own a vehicle, drive frequently and live in areas that experience extreme winter temperatures.
Canadian Tire and its agency partners created the world's first drivable truck, made completely out of ice, and which ran on the MotoMaster Eliminator battery. This not only showcased the battery's performance and technology in cold temperatures, but also create a visual and innovative story about the ice truck's design and build.
The 15,000 pound ice truck, crafted by Ontario ice sculpting experts Iceculture, was used in a TV commercial, which debuted during the 2014 NHL Winter Classic. Creating the truck was technologically difficult because of the short lifespan and fragile nature of the Ice Truck (it began melting almost immediately). This made it difficult to show the truck to media or consumers in larger markets. With this in mind, a three-part communications strategy was created by North Strategic.
To ensure a feature story, an exclusive interview was arranged with Toronto Star Wheels. The journalist accompanied Canadian Tire at Iceculture in Hensall, ON for a behind-the-scenes experience on the day the Ice Truck was fully assembled. In addition to witnessing the complex build process and first successful test drive of the Ice Truck, he conducted 1:1 interviews on site.
To generate additional coverage, North Strategic invited local media from the Hensall and surrounding regions to witness the Ice Truck attempt a significant 1.5 kilometre drive. The North Strategic team also developed a comprehensive media relations pitch outlining the campaign and the attributes of the MotoMaster battery, with photos and links to the YouTube campaign videos to drive views online.
The media pitch was initially distributed to Canadian automotive, consumer and social media. However, as media took notice of the incredulity of the ice truck, PR efforts quickly extended to outlets worldwide resulting in international media attention.
The Ice Truck became one of Canadian Tire's most successful campaigns, with Motomaster Eliminator automotive battery sales up 70% over the previous year. It generated more than 80 million media impressions (197 stories) with features on CBC, Globe and Mail, Discovery Channel, Global News, the Toronto Star and more, with additional stories in Fast Company, CNN, The London Times and The Daily Mail UK and The New York Times.
Online, the TV spot and supporting documentary videos together garnered more than 1.3 million views on YouTube, while a promoted tweet had four times the normal reach. The campaign resulted in over 1.2 million impressions generated through Twitter, 9,736 Facebook shares and 31,886 Facebook likes.
