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SilverBest in Experiential/Stunts - Budget Over $100,000
Belairdirect
"Mystery Fridge"
PHD
"Mystery Fridge"
PHD
Belairdirect, a leading Canadian auto and home insurance brand, faces significant challenges in a highly competitive market. With many consumers displaying a limited interest in the insurance sector, the company’s growth ambitions are particularly bold — especially in Quebec, which is its biggest market.
Amid intense competition and a general apathy toward insurance, particularly among the 18-34 demographic, belairdirect has set ambitious goals: to increase brand awareness by 2% year-over-year and to secure a position among the top three most considered insurance brands, up from its current fourth-place ranking.
Each year, over 650,000 Quebecers participate in Moving Day on July 1st, a day dedicated to packing, unpacking, and settling into new homes. This tradition, rooted in historical legal customs when most rental leases ended, continues to thrive even though it is no longer a legal requirement.
While the rest of Canada celebrates Canada Day, Quebecers are busy navigating the chaos of their moves, with furniture and personal belongings spilling into the streets. Many need to book professional movers months in advance to secure help, but with limited availability, many turn to friends and family, creating “amateur moving teams.” These DIY movers often face challenges when hauling heavy appliances through narrow hallways and stairs.
However, the lack of experience frequently results in costly mistakes — items unsecured in trucks that fall onto highways, oversized furniture that can't fit through stairwells, or even fridges dropped from second-floor windows. These common mishaps on Moving Day can lead to significant damage.
Amid the chaos, the final and most important task for movers is ensuring their belongings are properly insured. This is where belairdirect plays a crucial role. With its “insurance made easy” positioning, the brand offers simple, hassle-free property and belongings insurance solutions to Quebecers. In the event of mishaps — whether it’s a broken appliance or a damaged piece of furniture — belairdirect ensures they have the coverage they need.
To make a real impact, the agency focused on every mover’s worst nightmare: watching their fridge plummet from a balcony onto the street. Literally. belairdirect executed a spectacular stunt on a bustling Montreal street, recreating a typical moving accident with a fridge dropped from a balcony onto a car.
Popular influencers captured the scene, teasing their followers with glimpses of the chaos before unveiling the mastermind behind it a few days later: belairdirect.
The campaign underscored the company’s commitment to simplicity, even in life’s most chaotic
moments.
The stunt quickly gained organic traction, shared widely by influencers on social media and even making headlines on Quebec’s most-watched morning show, Salut Bonjour.
To keep the conversation going, we identified key environments, contexts, and targeting opportunities tied to the moving experience and the needs that come with it.
For outdoor ads, we strategically targeted residential neighborhoods with high concentrations of movers and placed ads in elevator screens of apartment buildings to remind renters of the importance of insuring their belongings.
Knowing many people were ordering extra tools and accessories for their new homes, the agency also reached consumers directly by delivering 350,000 belairdirect-branded Amazon boxes across the province.
Digitally, the agency leveraged moving-related targeting on platforms popular with the brand’s audience, such as Uber Eats and Spotify.
To maximize attention, the agency used high-impact formats like YouTube Masthead and full-screen ads, ensuring our message was impossible to miss during the busy moving season.
Amid intense competition and a general apathy toward insurance, particularly among the 18-34 demographic, belairdirect has set ambitious goals: to increase brand awareness by 2% year-over-year and to secure a position among the top three most considered insurance brands, up from its current fourth-place ranking.
Each year, over 650,000 Quebecers participate in Moving Day on July 1st, a day dedicated to packing, unpacking, and settling into new homes. This tradition, rooted in historical legal customs when most rental leases ended, continues to thrive even though it is no longer a legal requirement.
While the rest of Canada celebrates Canada Day, Quebecers are busy navigating the chaos of their moves, with furniture and personal belongings spilling into the streets. Many need to book professional movers months in advance to secure help, but with limited availability, many turn to friends and family, creating “amateur moving teams.” These DIY movers often face challenges when hauling heavy appliances through narrow hallways and stairs.
However, the lack of experience frequently results in costly mistakes — items unsecured in trucks that fall onto highways, oversized furniture that can't fit through stairwells, or even fridges dropped from second-floor windows. These common mishaps on Moving Day can lead to significant damage.
Amid the chaos, the final and most important task for movers is ensuring their belongings are properly insured. This is where belairdirect plays a crucial role. With its “insurance made easy” positioning, the brand offers simple, hassle-free property and belongings insurance solutions to Quebecers. In the event of mishaps — whether it’s a broken appliance or a damaged piece of furniture — belairdirect ensures they have the coverage they need.
To make a real impact, the agency focused on every mover’s worst nightmare: watching their fridge plummet from a balcony onto the street. Literally. belairdirect executed a spectacular stunt on a bustling Montreal street, recreating a typical moving accident with a fridge dropped from a balcony onto a car.
Popular influencers captured the scene, teasing their followers with glimpses of the chaos before unveiling the mastermind behind it a few days later: belairdirect.
The campaign underscored the company’s commitment to simplicity, even in life’s most chaotic
moments.
The stunt quickly gained organic traction, shared widely by influencers on social media and even making headlines on Quebec’s most-watched morning show, Salut Bonjour.
To keep the conversation going, we identified key environments, contexts, and targeting opportunities tied to the moving experience and the needs that come with it.
For outdoor ads, we strategically targeted residential neighborhoods with high concentrations of movers and placed ads in elevator screens of apartment buildings to remind renters of the importance of insuring their belongings.
Knowing many people were ordering extra tools and accessories for their new homes, the agency also reached consumers directly by delivering 350,000 belairdirect-branded Amazon boxes across the province.
Digitally, the agency leveraged moving-related targeting on platforms popular with the brand’s audience, such as Uber Eats and Spotify.
To maximize attention, the agency used high-impact formats like YouTube Masthead and full-screen ads, ensuring our message was impossible to miss during the busy moving season.
Credits
PHD Montrealbelairdirect
Sid Lee