2025 Winner
SilverBest Data Insight
SilverBest in Experiential/Stunts - Budget Under $100,000
BronzeBest in OOH Platforms - Budget Under $100,000
TD
"Pole Pillows"
Starcom
"Pole Pillows"
Starcom
Auto insurance is a necessary but uninspiring category that is high in cynicism, low in differentiation, and virtually absent of emotional connection. It’s a grudge purchase from companies that often feel cold and transactional. With dozens of similar offerings on the market, brands struggle to earn trust or stand out. It was essential for TD Insurance to stand out by proving that they care about the people they insure, which is exactly what their platform “Here when you need us” set out to do.
But caring couldn’t just be claimed; it had to be shown. The agency needed the right data to find the perfect place and space to build trust, spark talkability, and make a real impact on people’s lives.
Filing a claim is where the real stress begins with paperwork, premiums, and uncertainty.
So they used data to find the everyday moments of risk Canadians face before the damage is done and stepped in to help prevent the pain altogether. One insight rose to the surface: over half of Canadians have damaged their vehicles in parking lots. Small dents. Big bills.
High stress. It’s a hidden epidemic of claims happening in plain sight.
Parking lot poles aren’t just obstacles but symbols of fear. To drivers, they represent the looming threat of damage, paperwork, and future insurance claims. Their very presence triggers anxiety.
This was their opportunity. A simple, relatable moment where TD Insurance could disarm fear with empathy, utility, and a bit of humour, bringing its promise to life in a way people could feel, share, and remember.
“Pole Pillows” was a campaign that made a real-world connection by combining OOH innovation and digital amplification that were grounded in data insight.
TD Insurance tapped into claims data to identify high-risk parking spots, where car damage was most frequent. Then they physically intervened with a brand act: transforming collision-prone poles into “Pole Pillows”. They wrapped these intimidating parking lot hazards in giant, green padded ‘pillows’ that protected vehicles from both damage and fear.
Influencers were then invited to discover Pole Pillows and organically share the story, creating buzz even before launch.
Further amplification through OLV content and social videos told the story of “Pole Pillows” as functional empathy. DOOH near installations reinforced visibility outside of the parking lots, and a social campaign invited participation from Canadians to crowdsource future locations, turning the notorious parking lot of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre into a UGC hotspot.
For the first time, TD Insurance used claims data to pinpoint specific high-risk parking lots and brought that insight to life with a tangible, real-world solution. It was also TD Insurance’s first crowd-sourced OOH plan after collecting the often complained-about spots of notoriety from Canada’s daily parking people.
The activation was a smash(less) success. It drove 22 million earned impressions, 36 million video views, and 100% positive sentiment. This universal praise achieved real business growth with a 29% increase in quotes, a 34% lift in written premiums, and an overall 15% rise in sales year-over-year during the campaign period. They turned a data insight into a safe vehicle for building trust in a transactional category.
But caring couldn’t just be claimed; it had to be shown. The agency needed the right data to find the perfect place and space to build trust, spark talkability, and make a real impact on people’s lives.
Filing a claim is where the real stress begins with paperwork, premiums, and uncertainty.
So they used data to find the everyday moments of risk Canadians face before the damage is done and stepped in to help prevent the pain altogether. One insight rose to the surface: over half of Canadians have damaged their vehicles in parking lots. Small dents. Big bills.
High stress. It’s a hidden epidemic of claims happening in plain sight.
Parking lot poles aren’t just obstacles but symbols of fear. To drivers, they represent the looming threat of damage, paperwork, and future insurance claims. Their very presence triggers anxiety.
This was their opportunity. A simple, relatable moment where TD Insurance could disarm fear with empathy, utility, and a bit of humour, bringing its promise to life in a way people could feel, share, and remember.
“Pole Pillows” was a campaign that made a real-world connection by combining OOH innovation and digital amplification that were grounded in data insight.
TD Insurance tapped into claims data to identify high-risk parking spots, where car damage was most frequent. Then they physically intervened with a brand act: transforming collision-prone poles into “Pole Pillows”. They wrapped these intimidating parking lot hazards in giant, green padded ‘pillows’ that protected vehicles from both damage and fear.
Influencers were then invited to discover Pole Pillows and organically share the story, creating buzz even before launch.
Further amplification through OLV content and social videos told the story of “Pole Pillows” as functional empathy. DOOH near installations reinforced visibility outside of the parking lots, and a social campaign invited participation from Canadians to crowdsource future locations, turning the notorious parking lot of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre into a UGC hotspot.
For the first time, TD Insurance used claims data to pinpoint specific high-risk parking lots and brought that insight to life with a tangible, real-world solution. It was also TD Insurance’s first crowd-sourced OOH plan after collecting the often complained-about spots of notoriety from Canada’s daily parking people.
The activation was a smash(less) success. It drove 22 million earned impressions, 36 million video views, and 100% positive sentiment. This universal praise achieved real business growth with a 29% increase in quotes, a 34% lift in written premiums, and an overall 15% rise in sales year-over-year during the campaign period. They turned a data insight into a safe vehicle for building trust in a transactional category.
Credits
MEDIA AGENCYMegan Lubberts: Vice President, Media Planning
Samantha Monterio: Director
Antonina Samsonikova: Associate Director
Lylia Halimi: Media Planner
CLIENT
Global Chief Marketing Officer: Tyrrell Schmidt
SVP, CMO Canada, TD: Maja Neable
VP Marketing – TD Insurance: Alan Wen
AVP Marketing – General Insurance: Jayne Wilkinson
Sr. Manager Marketing – General Insurance: Rachel Fyfe
Sr. Manager COE: Collin Dunn
Marketing Manager – General Insurance: Kim Snow
INFLUENCER AGENCY
Accounts: Lorri MacDonald, Erika Ymana, Dimple Sahajwalla
Creative: Peter Ignazi, Josh Diamond, Darryl Graham, Megan Radisa, Brenna Whyte
Strategy: Lori Davison
Influencer: Julie Keith, Manasi Sohoni
Production (producer): Mark Graham, Adam Tinker, Lindsey Barnett, Serena Harding
Production (Editor): Mike Stephenson
Pole Pillow Production Company: PHN
Music/Sound Design: OSO
VFX: UPP ((Universal Production Partners)
PR: Agnostic PR