2026 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Skip is a Canadian success story, but rising pressure from global competitors like Uber Eats and DoorDash was putting its position at risk. While Skip proudly leaned into its Canadian identity, the brand needed to reinforce that connection in a way that felt real, not just patriotic.
Adding to the challenge, Skip experienced a sharp seasonal decline in orders during harsh winter months. Snowstorms, icy roads, and poor visibility created delivery delays, cancellations, and weakened consumer confidence.

Traditional advertising alone could not solve this issue. To stay competitive, Skip needed to act. The agency identified an opportunity to meet a universal Canadian frustration with a bold and tangible solution. Their objectives were to strengthen brand relevance, improve perceptions of reliability, reignite affection for Skip, and reverse the winter slump in sales and order volume.

Canadians don’t just endure winter, they’re constantly looking for ways to skip it.

In Canada, winter is not just a season. It is a national obstacle course. Snowstorms routinely shut down cities, bury bike lanes, and make travel nearly impossible. For delivery couriers, conditions become dangerous. For consumers, doubt creeps in. If the roads are not clear, will my food even get here? Research confirmed that winter weather created a spike in cancellations, delays, and reduced usage.

At the same time, Skip had just introduced its new brand platform, Skip to the Good Part, a platform built to remove everyday friction through real action. That led to the agency’s core insight. If the worst part of winter is snow covered roads, then why not clear it themselves? By eliminating the literal barrier to delivery, Skip could make its brand promise undeniably real and do something global competitors simply could not.

They launched the “Winter Delivery Fleet”, a real fleet of Skip branded snowplows that doubled as delivery vehicles. Wherever Skip delivered, it also cleared the road. The idea came to life using three channels – online video, social, and the Skip app.

First, the agency unveiled the idea with a cinematic launch film that presented the plows like the debut of a futuristic super truck. The dramatic lighting, intense music, and self serious tone amplified the humour. From there, the vehicles rolled through key Canadian cities, including the GTA.

Customers placing orders could request the fleet to show up in their neighbourhoods, literally plowing the way for dinner. They then made it available on the app where Canadians can also save with winter discounts on their orders. And on social media they created posts to drive engagement and bring the idea to life.

The timing became perfect. In early 2025, Canada was hit with one of the worst snowstorms in recent history. The fleet was already active and instantly became the most visible, photographed, and talked about delivery vehicles in the country. It dominated local news. The activation blended utility, spectacle, and cultural timing in a way no traditional campaign could match.

This campaign was a fast follow to the launch of Skip’s new brand platform “Skip to the Good Part” that was authored by the strategist on the account. So the brief and strategy was always focused on ensuring that whatever idea they do in the winter it had to show the brand’s role to help Canadians skip the things they hate, and get the things they love. This was the first expression of the brand where they bring this platform and promise to life beyond film.

The planner focused teams to think of ideas like the “Winter Delivery Fleet” which was almost the literal interpretation of the strategy and brought it to life in an unique way.

The Skip “Winter Delivery Fleet” did more than spark conversation. It reignited the business. New user acquisition surged 54 percent. Order volume increased 29 percent, reversing years of winter decline. Sales among key partners grew 30 percent. Media coverage appeared in every major Canadian outlet, and social feeds filled with sightings and praise.

Most importantly, Skip redefined what it means to be the Canadian choice. It became the brand that understands life here, messy, snowy, and full of friction, and clears the way anyway. Skip did not just promise convenience. It plowed the road to deliver it.

Credits

Courage Inc.
Founder + CCO: Dhaval Bhatt
Founder + CCO: Joel Holtby
Partner + President: Niki Sahni
Partner + CSO: Tom Kenny
Executive Strategy Director: Rami Dudin
Managing Director: Saloni Wadehra
Associate Creative Director: Zuheir Kotob
Associate Creative Director: Jason Soy
Account Supervisor: Emily Broad
Account Executive: Jordan McConnell
Executive Producer: Clair Galea
Producer: Dan Rankin
Talent + Traffic Manager: Christine Baggs
PR Director: Natalia Banoub
PR Coordinator: Alexandra Smith
Senior Social Media Manager: Oliver O’Brien

Skip
Vice President, Marketing: Rachel MacAdam
Vice President, Communications and Government Relations: Melanie Fatouros-Richardson
Creative Director: Phil Sylver
Head of Partner Marketing: Daniela Profenna
Associate Director, Brand, Promotions and Sponsorships: Bethany Skelton
Communications Manager: Emma Bowers
Social Media Manager: Avery Hoffman
Associate Creative Director: David Kotschorek
Senior Marketing Manager, Media: Travis Reason
Manager, Media: Eleanor Bothwell