DoorDash Canada Tosses Tradition Aside to Do Things 'HoliDifferently'

DoorDash Canada has launched a new annual platform aiming to enable a holiday season different than its customers have experienced before. HoliDifferently is a cheeky remix on traditions, which doesn’t give a 'fork' about the holiday rules. Launched at Thanksgiving, the campaign celebrates untraditional moments of the holiday season that are enhanced with customised promotions on DoorDash. 

“Many people experience a love-hate relationship with the holidays - there's the pressure and time commitments, but also countless small magical moments that often go unappreciated," said Delly Dyer, senior manager of consumer brand marketing at DoorDash Canada. "At DoorDash, we wanted to embrace and celebrate all facets of the season, from the traditional occasions requiring a few last-minute grocery items, to the less conventional ones that might call for enjoying some Thai food in bed. Regardless of the celebration style, DoorDash is here to help Canadians embrace ease and ‘HoliDifferently' during this busy season.”

HoliDifferently launched with a 30s spot and five 15s spots in English and French, highlighting hero moments that will run over the course of the campaign period – Post-Halloween Antacid Day, Party Season Hermit Days, Last-Minute Gift Days, and Resolution Amnesia Day – all featuring a hero DoorDash customer as the central figure. The videos show locked-off shots with stylistic production design and vibrant colour palettes, capturing the essence of the HoliDifferently season.  A seamless scrolling transition between scenes mirrors the user experience of the DoorDash app.

Zulu Alpha Kilo created the platform and executed video and audio production, along with HoliDiferently templates used in-app and in CRM. Zulu also developed animated out-of-home boards with Fort York to bring the platform to life, with a twist on holiday storefront window displays. Running in window placements managed by Wavemaker working with FrontRunner Technologies, these spectacular worlds manifest Party Season Hermit Days and Last-Minute Gift Days using 3D visuals. The OOH launched in November and will run through the remainder of the campaign in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.

“As our first partnership with DoorDash, we fully embraced the personality traits of the brand,” said Jenny Glover, chief creative officer, Zulu Alpha Kilo. “From the grammatically bonkers name of HoliDifferenlty, to the many quirky easter eggs throughout creative, our goal was to break through in the cluttered holiday season, while leaning into true, relatable moments that our target would deeply resonate with.”

Ruckus Digital executed owned social and influencer marketing, including extensions around moments like Jack-o-Anything-Goes Days in October and Over Eager Celebrators in November. Wavemaker led media, with the buy including TV, connected TV, radio, programmatic audio, display, and the custom OOH placements. Kepler executed social and YouTube. Veritas Communications executed media relations.

The campaign runs from October 9th through January 7th.