Given the changing market, it’s no surprise that driving cold beverage sales was a massive priority for Tim Hortons.

Six new cold beverage innovations were in the pipeline for the summer of 2023, all of which would be supported by an overarching “Tims Does Cold” marketing campaign.

But it would take more than a product-centric ad campaign to make these beverages stand out, and help Canadians see their favourite hot coffee destination as a cold beverage go-to. After all, cold beverages are a wildly competitive category with minimal differentiation (can you tell the difference between a Starbucks Refresher and a McDonald’s Fruit Splash?). And while the six new beverages were well-positioned to meet the needs of on-the-go Canadians, none were inherently newsworthy on their own.

The ask was clear: develop a stand-alone idea that could make Tims biggest product priorities one of the brand’s biggest news stories of the year.

Canadian consumers are thirsty for cold, refreshing drinks - especially in the summer months. The only challenge? Summer in Canada is so fleeting that no one wants to miss a minute on the boat - or the dock, or by the pool - getting in their car to grab a summer sipper.

So we wondered: could we drive mass media coverage that would position Tims as a destination for cold beverages by putting a refreshing spin on not only what Canadians order at Tims - but on how they make that order?

On August 3, 2023, we announced the opening of Tim Hortons first-ever Boat-Thru - the most refreshing Tim Hortons location ever created. At this one-of-a-kind Tims location, we would offer Tims new cold beverages free of charge to all sailors, boaters and paddlers, ensuring no Canadian would need to miss a minute in the summer sun to get some refreshments from Tims.

The campaign was designed to reach an audience segment Tims calls the The Adventurous Foodie. This Tims customer (they make up 15% of the brand’s customer base) loves spending time out of the house and has a passion for unique experiences. With a deep commitment to living life to the fullest, The Adventurous Foodie works hard, plays hard and believes they deserve to have fun, see the world around them and experience adventure.

In other words, exactly the kind of consumer who wouldn’t want to miss a minute on the water on the last long weekend of summer.

Although budget dictated that the Tim Hortons Boat-Thru would pop up in only one location, our strategy was rooted in a belief that the unique, seasonal spin on a Canadian icon would drive coverage nationally, clearly demonstrating to Adventurous Foodies across Canada that Tim Hortons is their destination for cold beverage refreshment.

To manage costs, our “floating Tims” would only dock into place days before its weekend opening - almost two hours from Toronto (the closest media market). We needed an efficient and strategic communications plan to tell the story of this little pop-up on a massive scale:

Wednesday, August 2: As soon as the Boat-Thru arrived on-site, our content production team captured photo and video footage, which we furiously packaged for social media and b-roll.

Thursday, August 3: At 6:00 a.m., we announced the arrival of the Tim Hortons Boat-Thru via a national press release and social media announcement.

Friday, August 4: We gave Canada’s number one morning show - Breakfast Television - an exclusive first look at the Boat-Thru, live on location.

Saturday, August 5: The Boat-Thru opened to the public, serving Tims cold beverages to Canadians in boats, kayaks, canoes, on paddleboards and floaties - even a floating car.

We set out to make Tims cold beverages one of the biggest news stories of the year, and we delivered. This program smashed (splashed?!) through even our boldest expectations.

We had set a goal of delivering at least 100 million media impressions through this activation, which we estimated would make this one of the brand's top ten biggest stories of the year.

In the end, the Boat-Thru drove more than 500 stories across Canada, generating more than 230 million earned media impressions and almost 10 million social impressions, making it the third biggest proactive earned media story of 2023 for the Tim Hortons brand (the only stories that earned more attention were Tims massive annual coast-to-coast fundraising program and the brand’s 60th anniversary).

100% of the coverage was positive in tone, and 80% spotlighted the cold beverages on offer at the Boat-Thru, helping deliver breakthrough key messaging about this critical product priority.

Even more important? In Q3 of 2023 (the quarter in which the boat-thru floated into town), cold beverage sales at Tims were +10% YOY.

And, as they say, a rising tide lifts all boats. A boost in demand for Tims cold beverages was cited as a critical driver of the brand’s overall strength in Canada in 2023: Tim Hortons saw system-wide Sales Growth of 11% in 2023.