In slightly more time than it takes to read this article, a vehicle will be stolen in Canada.

That’s why the (IBC), a trade association, is reminding the public and lawmakers that ‘auto theft hurts everyone,’ in a campaign with the same name.

In the hero spot, a mother and daughter are getting ready to leave their typical suburban home, only to see the family car screeching away when they reach the driveway.

“Coming into the holidays, we know that break-ins are more frequent,” says Neville McGuire, VP of communications at IBC.

In addition to mobilizing drivers and consumers, McGuire says the campaign aims to influence policymakers across all levels of government and different jurisdictions.

“We wanted to tell a story” and to have “an emotional pull,” McGuire says, telling strategy that in addition to the personal cost to having one’s vehicle stolen – one of wellbeing and feeling violated – there is a financial cost implication to premiums. In Ontario, auto thefts costs the average driver $130 or more annually. To drive home the message, the association focused on splashy numbers on their billboards (see, above), detailing that nearly 85,000 vehicles were stolen this year alone.

According to the organization’s insights – and for the first time in history – Canada’s private auto insurers paid out $1.2 billion in theft claims in 2022, which is three times more than what was paid in 2018. That trend continued to climb in the first half of 2023, IBC says, leading it to call the phenomenon a “national crisis” in some of its creative assets.

In Ontario alone, auto theft claims are up 329% in that same time period. Of the more than $700 million in losses across Ontario, $500 million was in the GTA alone and is the reason why the region is being targeted in the campaign.

“Auto Theft Hurts Everyone,” a joint initiative with French partner Équité Association, is running until Dec. 3. The campaign launched with media relations followed by programmatic, in-stream video, social, dynamic and digital billboards and radio.

IBC says that right now, radio is working well for the organization, understandable given the subject matter. “We haven’t done OOH as an organization in quite awhile,” says McGuire.

All tactics direct to the “End Auto Theft” microsite, which contains resources and information.

According to McGuire, the organization wants to shift the conversation away from “gawking at the problem” and work towards a solution instead.

The challenge with the advocacy file, he says, is that there are multiple levels of stakeholders – governments, manufacturers, law enforcement, and more – involved in curbing the problem.

The IBC’s creative AOR, Paradigm, also handled media relations. True Media is behind the buy, with VMG handling video production.