2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

For several years, the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) has launched awareness campaigns to encourage Quebecers to respect speed limits. Despite these efforts, speeding was a factor in 31% of fatal accidents in 2023, with a significant impact on new drivers aged 15-24, for whom the number of fatal accidents increased by 20%.

While driving at extreme speeds is recognized as irresponsible, small excesses in low-speed zones (i.e., exceeding speed limits by 5 to 10 km/h in 30 and 40 km/h zones) are still downplayed. According to the Association des Directeurs de Police du Québec, 70% of drivers exceed the limit in 30 km/h zones.

The main question? How can the agency make respecting speed limits in low-speed zones the norm rather than the exception, considering that reducing the average driving speed by 5 km/h on Quebec roads could decrease the number of annual accidents by 15%?

The challenge lies not in launching yet another awareness campaign but in ensuring young drivers feel personally motivated enough to change their behaviour, thereby changing the social norm.

Social norms are now influenced by online culture, even if it doesn’t mimic reality. When it comes to driving, racing games, and gaming content nourish a culture that encourages drivers to drive as fast as possible, without considering speed limits, even in residential areas settings.

Research indicates that video games significantly influence behaviour. Knowing that 32% of young Canadians aged 18 to 34 consume gaming content on Twitch (Media in Canada) and 36.5% of 16 to 34-year-olds play racing video games (Global Web Index), the Government of Quebec strategically infiltrated Twitch racing game streams. The goal was to reach and engage young drivers (and the next generation of drivers) where they’re the most active and most likely to develop indifference toward the dangers of speeding while driving.

The online idea was to combat the indifference and inspire young Quebec drivers to rethink their driving habits. The SAAQ developed the initiative “No need for speed.” The 100% digital initiative put online speeding habits to rest with the help of gaming content creators who, for once, respected speed limits while streaming.

In collaboration with four content creators, they surprised viewers during one-hour organic livestreams on Twitch. During these streams, the creators suddenly reduced their speed to 30 km/h in urban racing games. Initially surprised, viewers began reflecting on their own behaviour and discussing the absurdity of not respecting speed limits.

To reach even more young drivers, they shared short “best moment” clips from these livestreams organically on the brand’s collaborators’ TikTok platforms. A hero video capturing the initiative’s highlights was also amplified by the SAAQ on TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

Strategic planning contributed specifically to this initiative in two ways. Research allowed the agency to identify a pop culture niche that proved to be a strong angle for challenging, educating and starting conversations with a younger audience. The SAAQ had never targeted this audience and made sure this first interaction was a relevant one.

Connection planning was also key in building ecosystems that maximized the initiative’s visibility and credibility with the 18 to 34-year-old audience. It allowed them to make sure the Twitch livestreams could be amplified in shorter formats that would generate as much engagement on TikTok and YouTube.

The digital activation, in collaboration with the right content creators, managed to catch the attention of young people and spark necessary conversations.

The initiative successfully engaged and prompted drivers to reassess their behaviour. More than 3000 hours of organic content watched across Twitch and TikTok, there was a 22% engagement rate, a 97% positive perception of the initiative, 83% understood that respecting speed limits is normal, and 88% said the campaign would encourage them to respect speed limits.

Ultimately, there was a 7% decrease in accidents in September 2024 compared to the previous year.

Thus, they can say that the campaign successfully overturned the social norm and positively impacted lives by providing a convincing, direct, and non-moralizing illustration of its absurdity.

Credits

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICERS: Nicolas Baldovini, Luc du Sault, Josh Stein
VICE-PRESIDENT, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTION: Nicolas Boisvert
CREATIVE DIRECTION: Luc Du Sault
COPYWRITING : Félix-Antoine Belleville
ART DIRECTION : Megan Plamondon
STRATEGIC PLANNING: Charlotte Arsenault
CLIENT SERVICES: Alexandra Laverdière, Noémie Steben-Roy, Laurence-Olivier Paquet
AGENCY PRODUCTION: Simon L. Dubé
MOTION DESIGN: Daniel Martinez-Mendoza
EDITING: Daniel Martinez-Mendoza
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER: Sophie-Annick Vallée

[Individual Credits - Media Agency - Touché!]
Amélie Simoneau, Antoine Morneau