Historically, the Chevrolet brand has been recognized for its reliable, durable pickup trucks, both in Quebec and English Canada. However, the overall brand image was more positive in English Canada vs. Quebec, largely due to differences in market segmentation – English Canada is more developed in large vehicles while Quebec is overdeveloped in small vehicle segments. As a result, Chevrolet was not very present in the minds of Quebec consumers – at least not in the minds of younger consumers when it came to brand selection.

In the past two years, Chevrolet has expanded its small vehicle line with the launch of the Cruze and Sonic in 2011, and the Spark in 2012.

This market segment is dominated by Asian brands who have built their franchise on small cars. As Chevrolet is mostly known for its larger vehicles from a bygone era when bigger was often considered better, it was crucial to build brand awareness among a younger target who are not as aware of Chevrolet as older drivers are.

In partnership with Philippe Bond (host of the morning show, "C't'encore drôle," at Montreal's NRJ radio station and stand-up comic of the year in Quebec), radio content was created with video extensions that young listeners could share on social media. The content showed Philippe performing crazy stunts while testing new Chevrolet vehicles.

A series of 13 capsules were aired or available online over a 17-week period. In each capsule, Philippe Bond would do a "Bond d'essai Chevrolet" putting a different car to the test in a humorous way.

Throughout the entire campaign, the microsite, bonddessai.com, hosted all the communications components where people could watch, like and share the videos. Every week, the three-minute audio capsule, recorded live, was aired on NRJ on Tuesday mornings at 7:37 a.m. The same day, the video version was released online and a 90-second radio spot recapped the action on NRJ throughout the week until the next Bond d'essai Chevrolet.

A capsule was developed where listeners were invited to make Philippe's stunt more exciting by requesting people to text the word, "Sonic," to the radio station. As the texts came in, the Chevrolet Sonic, with Philippe Bond sitting inside, was pulled 120 feet up in the air with a crane, and one lucky listener won the car.

For the last Bond d'essai Chevrolet, a contest was created inviting people to submit their idea for one of Philippe's stunts with the new Chevrolet Spark, and suggestions were featured on bonddessai.com. The winner was invited to watch the filming of the clip and participate in the capsule with Philippe as well.

A wide variety of digital formats were used, including big box videos, pre-rolls and landing page takeovers. All this material was updated on a weekly basis with the latest Bond d'essai Chevrolet of the week.

Lastly, OOH ads were displayed on street posts, digital superboards, and on digital video screens in restaurants and bars to increase campaign frequency. All digital executions were updated weekly featuring the latest capsule.

In store, Chevrolet dealers were provided with digital POP and advertising material kits and life-size cardboard cut-outs of Philippe Bond in his Bond d'essai Chevrolet stunt suit so they could use these campaign elements according to their respective needs.

And during the mid-time break of some of Philippe Bond's stand-up comic shows, a squad equipped with iPads and touch-screens gave people the chance to watch the videos and enter the contest.

The most impressive impact of the campaign was a 20% increase in the brand evaluation score between the first and second quarters of 2012, and the overall results were noticeable terms of reducing the gap between brand perception in Quebec and English Canada by 5%. (Source: MITS – Imagery statement ratings).

Web advertising consisted of a total of 83 million digital impressions of all types, generating 500,400 clicks/visits and 1,503,957 views of the videos.

For the radio station, reach increased by 33% for this segment of the radio show, and during the stunt, over 10,000 text messages were sent by listeners in a record time of 45 minutes.

This initiative not only increased relevant brand presence for Chevrolet among the intended target – it also contributed to rejuvenating the Chevrolet brand while introducing the smaller urban vehicle portfolio to a new audience.