2026 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

British Columbia is home to world-famous destinations like Vancouver, Whistler, and the Rocky Mountains, attracting millions of travellers every year. Yet Northern BC, despite representing nearly 60% of the province, captures only 4% of tourism visitation, even though it offers one of the greatest wilderness regions on earth.

Partnering closely with Destination British Columbia, the official tourism organization promoting BC, the agency created and launched The Great Wilderness – a new brand platform that positioned Northern BC as the world’s next must-visit global wilderness frontier and required innovative thinking to launch the destination to new travel markets.

They strategically identified Germany, one of the world's most valuable adventure travel markets, as our launchpad, due to German travellers’ passion for wilderness escapes. Within this highly competitive market, they sought a culturally resonant and immersive way to connect deeply and personally with their audience.

The insight was that Germany’s structured, rule-driven lifestyle creates a strong emotional desire to escape to wilderness freedom. At the same time, strict German environmental laws make car washing at home illegal, forcing millions into industrial mechanical car washes each week – spaces that epitomize the very routine and confinement they seek to escape. This cultural tension led them to rethink an everyday German routine as an overlooked media channel hiding in plain sight.

They introduced the world to a totally unexpected, all-new media channel: the mechanical car wash itself. Launching in Hamburg, "Wäsche of the Wild" became the world’s first immersive wilderness car wash, blending sensory technology and everyday car wash mechanics.

Vehicles became immersive theatres surrounded by panoramic 3D projections vividly depicting Northern BC’s wilderness. Rotating industrial brushes became dense evergreen branches, jets of foam were transformed into northern lights, rinse cycles mirrored coastal rainforest storms, and air dryers re-created volcanic desert winds. Audio speakers embedded throughout the wash delivered synchronized soundscapes engineered to overcome mechanical noise, further enhancing immersion.

Executing this groundbreaking experience involved meticulous coordination between creative, media, and technology partners to overcome environmental constraints like water exposure and noise interference, ensuring a seamless immersive experience. They implemented detailed brand tracking and intent-to-visit studies, capturing immediate insights on media effectiveness.

Real innovation arises from authentic human needs, driven by deep cultural insight rather than mere technological possibility. With "Wäsche of the Wild," the agency transformed existing infrastructure and familiar technology into an entirely unprecedented immersive experience, redefining how an everyday routine could connect with travellers on an emotional level. By seamlessly blending cultural relevance with sensory immersion, they set new standards for media innovation in tourism.

The campaign introduced the world’s first immersive car wash, transforming mechanical car wash infrastructure into an engaging, multisensory media format. By turning everyday infrastructure into extraordinary storytelling, it reimagined a routine task as a meaningful emotional journey through innovative media application. This was achieved through advanced sensory fusion, seamlessly integrating industrial mechanics such as brushes, foam, and air jets with state-of-the-art sensory technology, including 3D projections and synchronized audio.

Deep Cultural Resonance: Strategically leveraging German cultural insights to vividly contrast urban routines with wilderness escapism.

This approach didn't merely capture attention – it delivered meaningful innovation precisely at the intersection of everyday life and the longing for adventure.

Brand tracking surveys conducted pre- and post-campaign revealed dramatic shifts in traveller attitudes toward Northern BC. This new kind of media experience didn’t just intrigue travellers; it doubled intent and was overwhelmingly seen as an innovative way to learn about a new destination.

The campaign garnered high intent to visit more than doubled, rising by 126% and association with wilderness increased by 69%.

The experience achieved 93% positive sentiment, beating the 75% industry benchmark for experiential activations. 93% of participants agreed the immersive car wash was an “innovative way” to promote a travel destination.

Perhaps most importantly, the campaign inspired significant pride at Destination BC, setting a new benchmark for future brand launches.

Credits

Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Chief Creative Officer: Tim Gordon
Executive Creative Director: Dean Lee
Creative Director / Copywriter: Dan Cummings
Creative Director / Art Director: Vic Bath
Art Director: Lizzie Cox
Copywriter: Tilden Lincoln
Account Team: David Tremblay, Lauren Hutton
Chief Strategy Officer: Heather Segal
Executive Strategy Director: Erica Shalinsky
Executive Director, Comms Planning & Technology: Sean Bell
Client: Destination BC
Clients: Maya Lange, Karla Grenon, Elisa Tang, Julia Zhang, Raman Deol, Martin Walter
Media Agency: Wasserman, Noise
Producers: Teresa Bayley, Andrew Sekine
Studio Artist: Jenny McCracken
Production Company: Unit9
Unit9 Creative Director: Sam Cannon
Unit9 Technical Director: James Medcraft
Technical A/V Partner: Urban Screen
Production Design: Silly Berlin
Unit9 Line Producer: Magnus Augustin
Unit9 Managing EP: Mindy Lubert
Unit9 Production Lead: Sarah Barson