2021 Winner

SilverBest Use of Display/Video

SilverBest in Niche Targeting

BronzeBest in Video

BRP (Can-Am Off-Road)
"Can-Am Therapy"
Touché!
When COVID-19 hit, Can-Am, an ATV and side-by-side vehicle manufacturer, was forced to halt production. Without vehicles to sell, the only way to keep the business afloat was to sell parts & accessories online. Not an easy task, considering e-comm had always only represented about
10% of Can-Am’s sales.

Over the last few years, they noticed a ritual taking place each spring: riders looked online for DIY tips on how to repair, maintain and accessorize their vehicle. It’s their way to engage with their Can-Am vehicle before the riding season begins. The question now was: How could they profit from this ritual knowing Can-Am had no vehicles to sell, due to the COVID related shutdown of its production plants? It was a bold proposition since 4-wheeler owners have a history of buying parts and accessories in dealerships (all closed during lockdown!). They capitalized on the DIY online videos to drive consumers to the Can-Am e-comm website and keep their business rolling by selling parts and accessories.

Can-Am manufactures all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles. Muddy trails, dunes and mountaintops all become playgrounds for the Can-Am adrenaline-seeking riders. Research shows that riding a Can-Am vehicle is an experience that appeals to all senses: the smell of the soil, the feel of the bumpy road and, perhaps more importantly, the sound of the powerful engine.

After long months of winter storage, Can-Am fans are eager to get back on the trails, feel the adrenaline and hear the engine roar. But with spring of 2020 came the lockdown, keeping drivers from the long awaited off-the-beaten-path rides. If the riders couldn’t get to the trails, they’d take the trails to them. They devised a campaign that stimulated their senses, until they could get back on
their beloved vehicles.

They launched Can-Am Therapy, a content series recreating the thrill of riding and provided online DIY tutorials using Can-Am parts and accessories.

They leveraged the fact that Can-Am fans missed the sensorial joys of riding, especially the sound of their powerful engine. They started with online videos featuring the most popular Can-Am professional riders and ambassadors. The videos stood out with their unique and humoristic call-to-action: Call a toll-free line to hear roaring engine sounds and record your own! (That’s right: don’t click, call us!)

To launch the series, they targeted their Can-Am riders on YouTube and select social platforms. Much to their surprise, more than 7,000 Can-Am fans contacted the toll-free number to hear the sound of their favourite Can-Am vehicles and submitted their own engine’s sound! Such a huge success called for follow-up videos featuring the best engine sounds imitations.

Can-Am Therapy’s launch phase allowed them to build new audiences and identify potential consumers for Can-Am parts and accessories. They increased their audience pool by creating lookalike audiences. They then activated these new audiences by pushing the DIY tutorials on how to maintain, repair and accessorize Can-Am vehicles at home. Pushed through programmatic videos, the tutorials featured the same humoristic vibe as the launch videos. The content of the tutorials itself was influenced by data, as it showcased the most searched-for DIY modifications and maintenances.

Lastly, they pushed targeted promotional offers to users who had watched the tutorials, to drive engagement and e-commerce transactions. When their North American dealerships reopened in the summer, they adapted their messaging and intercepted consumers with video content, social ads and search ads, based on inventory level.

Considering e-comm had always only represented about 10% of Can-Am’s sales, they took the gamble of addressing pieces and accessories to their fans in a brand new way. As a result, the visits to their parts and accessories e-comm page doubled over the lockdown, and they made Can-Am history with more than +332% online transactions and +300% ROI. Their Can-Am Therapy campaign not only kept their riders’ spirits up, it also contributed to keeping the business afloat during the pandemic.

In one week only, the Can-Am Therapy launch videos reached over 1.5 million fans. This enabled them to retarget with the How-To series, then seen by over 1 million passionate DIY viewers.

On top of generating great engagement on their social and video platforms, more than 7,000 Can-Am fans actually picked up the phone to call the toll-free number, getting an “audio taste” of their favourite Can-Am vehicles and submitting their own engine sounds. Not only were they entertained, they were actively shopping online. This tactic drove 4-wheelers unit sales when dealerships reopened across North America with a historical increase of +28%, making it Can-Am’s best sales year
despite the pandemic.

Credits

Touché!
BRP