Talk of trade tensions and tariffs is everywhere Canadians go. It’s in the news and, sometimes even more so, in advertising. Much of the messaging from brands around the “Buy Canadian” movement has been relegated to traditional static media – print, online, billboards – whereas Clearly Canadian recently took a different channel approach, intercepting consumers with a live experience via a red fridge-shaped kiosk.

Developed by agency Influence Marketing, the “Keep It Canadian Fridge” was first spotted at the Toronto Blue Jays-New York Yankees game at Rogers Centre on Canada Day and featured Clearly Canadian as the first brand partner. The activation included a brand ambassador handing out free Clearly Canadian samples from inside the fridge to baseball fans, alongside messaging highlighting the beverage’s Canadian roots.

During a time of rising economic nationalism, the kiosk is meant to offer homegrown brands a space to combine the “Buy Canadian” movement with product sampling, branded media and social amplification.

Will Kozma, VP of business development at Influence Marketing, tells MiC that while sample distribution and potential coupon redemption would be obvious KPIs, its partners are mostly interested in brand awareness and the return on experience (ROE).

Since its inception in the spring (during the peak of the tariff threats by U.S. President Donald Trump), Influence Media has added Cadillac Fairview as a venue partner for the activation to provide brand partners access to 16 mall properties across Canada, including the Toronto Eaton Centre, Union Station, Sherway Gardens, Shops at Don Mills and the Pacific Centre in Vancouver.

Correction: This story has been updated with a correction to Influence Marketing’s name, which was previously incorrectly referred to as Influence Media.