Electron Expedition

To cover 2,000 km in a fraction of a second is quite a feat. That's what an electron traveling across the province's power grid does to supply electricity to Quebecers. That's why Hydro-Québec challenged filmmaker and ultra-marathoner Caroline Côté to cover 2,000 km in less than 80 days, a tangible demonstration of what has made Hydro-Québec so strong for almost 75 years, and what makes it so relevant today. We call it Expedition ElectrON.

Connecting with the younger generation meant a real-time incursion of Caroline's best and worst moments during 80 days of hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing, biking and running, depending on her route through the vastness of the province. Weather conditions ranging from snow to torrential rain to scorching temperatures made Caroline's journey difficult, and at times almost impossible.

A major digital ecosystem was set up to broadcast Caroline's custom-created content on a daily basis. The broadcast platforms were Facebook, Instagram, the Hydro-Québec website and even the organization's intranet, all with very limited cellular and Internet access for most of the athlete's journey.

The young Quebecers were thus able to follow Caroline in a live and authentic approach, in the most beautiful moments as well as in the most difficult of her adventure. Each day, a dedicated team was responsible for broadcasting her various content: photos of the day, infographics, stories, video capsules, Facebook live videos, derivative content, etc. In total, 112 pieces of content were published over 73 days. Audiences were constantly optimized as the campaign grew in popularity.

To increase the project's reach, we also relied on native and integrated content in Urbania and Balle Courbe. This included a dedicated, populated section of articles that were shared on the platform's social networks, as well as banners linking to the Hydro-Québec website. In addition, we developed a series of 8 live radio interviews before and during the adventure with the star hosts of the Cogeco Force Radio homecoming shows - Paul Houde, Ève-Marie Lortie and Jean-François Blanchet. 15-second ads promoting these interviews were also aired to create excitement.

To view her adventure: http://www.hydroquebec.com/electron/fr/