General information
Client: VIA Rail (Canada)
Sector: Travel & tourism
Time period: 8 weeks
Budget (approx.): $140,000 (production)
Format: Long-form branded content series
Media and platforms: Video and display on CBC.ca (including a custom partner space), audio on CBC Listen, video on CBC Gem and CBC RON, social via CBC handles, plus influencer activity on TikTok and Meta.
Campaign objectives
VIA Rail, the company operating Canada’s national passenger rail service, combined a new product launch with brand building, using long-form content to tackle misconceptions that tend to block conversion in travel: comfort, ease, and whether rail feels like a realistic alternative to driving for intercity trips. The objectives behind this campaign were to increase consideration, lift purchase intent, and improve overall impression of VIA Rail.
A specific comparison point sat inside the broader brief: car-versus-train convenience for travel around Toronto’s GTA (Greater Toronto Area, i.e. Toronto plus the surrounding regional municipalities). For sales houses, that kind of statement is workable: it gives creative and distribution a single belief to move, then asks research to check whether it moved.
Context
CBC/Radio-Canada developed the multi-platform concept with Andrew Phung, a well-known Canadian comedian and actor, best known for playing Kimchee in the CBC sitcom “Kim’s Convenience”.
VIA Rail competes against default behaviours (e.g. cars and flights), so “consideration” often shows up early and disappears at the final decision. The strategy here treated that drop-off as a perception issue: people needed a clearer picture of the onboard experience, not a louder claim about it.
The timing aligned with VIA Rail’s new fleet rollout in the Québec City–Windsor corridor, described as focused on quality, space, and comfort. The content leaned on observable product cues that read quickly on screen: larger windows, wider aisles, touchless interior doors, larger washrooms, and even braille signage as part of an accessibility story. Business class added concrete service signals that travel well in video: meal service and the option to stay connected for work during the trip.
Creative minds
CBC/Radio-Canada handled production end-to-end, from scripting through post-production, leading to a campaign with light comedic tone, while still landing functional travel details.
The scripts centred on everyday driving pain points, traffic and the mental load of the road, then moved the camera to what changes on rail: legroom, the ability to work with a coffee, and travel time that doesn’t require attention on the wheel.
The campaign also kept a single recognisable voice across formats. Indeed, Phung recorded a 60-second audio spot for CBC Listen that introduced the series, and directed audiences back to CBC’s partner space. To extend distribution into social environments beyond broadcaster-owned handles, the plan included an influencer collaboration with Narcity, supporting activity on TikTok and Meta.
Campaign video
The campaign’s centrepiece is a long-form travelogue series starring Andrew Phung aboard VIA Rail’s new fleet, travelling from Toronto’s Union Station to Ottawa and London, Ontario.
Results
A brand lift study measured whether exposure shifted consideration and perceptions of taking the train. The reported headline movement tracked the campaign’s misconception focus, that is to say the belief that cars are more convenient when travelling in the GTA changed by 15%.
Overall impression of VIA Rail increased by 10%, while the campaign reported 175% overachievement against the video views KPI, time spent above average on the partner space and YouTube, and social and digital CTRs above target.
For sales houses, the combination is the point: an attention-heavy format (long-form video), distributed through CTV/streaming environments (CBC Gem and CBC RON) and a CBC.ca hub, paired with a belief shift tied to a rival behaviour (car-versus-train convenience).