Wayfair, Volvo go ‘off the grid’ with Corus

The brands have signed on as partners for Sarah Off the Grid, which follows HGTV host Sarah Richardson as she designs and builds her own family home in the country.

HGTV favourite Sarah Richardson is back with a new series this fall, designing and building an off-the-grid home for her own family.

Appropriately called Sarah Off the Grid, the six-part series follows Richardson and her family as they marry off-the-grid living with sustainable design and Richardson’s 25-plus-year experience. The show premieres on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 10 p.m.

Signed on as sponsors of the show are Volvo, which has supplied Richardson with an SUV from its XC90, line and Wayfair.ca, which will be furnishing the home. In addition, featured items from each week’s episode will be available on a special Sarah off the Grid page at Wayfair.ca.

Havas Media played an integral role in bringing Volvo into the series and managing all of the integrations. Corus is currently working with M/SIX moving forward on executing the campaign. While with Wayfair, Corus worked directly on the integration for Sarah Off the Grid.

Danielle Lozier, Wayfair’s senior manager of TV planning and buying, said this integration is the first the company has done in the Canadian market. (The company sponsored Brother vs. Brother in Canada in June, but that is an extension of its long-running U.S. integration with the program in the U.S.)

“Our goals align well because now you can watch [Sarah Off the Grid], get a spark of inspiration and act on it quickly, with products that are affordable and ship quickly right to your home,” said Lozier.

In addition to Richardson and her family, Sarah off the Grid will also feature appearances from other HGTV Canada stars, including Mike Holmes, Mike Holmes Jr. and Colin Hunter. The show is targeted at HGTV’s core network demo of adults 25 to 54 and women 25 to 54.