RONA inc., one of Canada’s leading home improvement retailers operating and servicing some 425 corporate and affiliated stores, along with its creative agency Sid Lee, were recently recognized for their marketing initiatives at Strategy Magazine’s Marketing Awards gala and at the 2025 Idéa Awards ceremony. At the Marketing Awards gala, RONA and its partner won Gold in the Integrated Web Campaign category for “La langue de chez nous” or the “The DIYctionary,” a French-language campaign conducted as part of the launch of RONA’s new AI-powered search tool. RONA was also the top winner at the Idéa Awards, with a total of 18 recognitions, including two “Grand Prix”.

“I am speechless to see RONA win so many industry awards. Our campaign was not only a huge success, but also a way to address a real issue for Québec consumers,” said Catherine Laporte, Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Customer Experience, RONA inc. “‘La langue de chez nous’ is the result of amazing teamwork, highlighting our internal teams’ contributions, Sid Lee’s creativity and our Media team’s production skills. Thanks to this collaborative effort, we were awarded the A2C’ first “Prix Client” and we couldn’t be prouder,” she added.

In the fall of 2024, RONA launched a new search tool for its transactional website to offer customers a highly personalized e-shopping experience. The tool relies on artificial intelligence to learn in real time and automatically adapt suggested results to customer behaviour. This enhanced search engine, along with the company’s desire to reconnect with its roots on its 85th anniversary, inspired RONA and its creative agency, Sid Lee, to dream up a new social media initiative: La langue de chez nous. Québecois French is a unique language, even more so when it comes to the world of home improvement. That’s why RONA made it easier for people in Québec to find what they were looking for, in their own words, on rona.ca.

“Winning an award for a Québec-only campaign at the Strategy Magazine gala, which showcases marketing success stories across Canada, is quite an accomplishment. It shows that the campaign had a real impact,” said Catherine Laporte. Thanks to this campaign, RONA and Sid Lee won Gold in the Integrated Web Campaign category at Strategy Magazine’s Marketing Awards gala, as well as several Idéa Awards, including:

• Grand Prix for Advertising Creation
• Grand Prix for Business Results and Strategy
• Media “Coup de cœur”
• Gold in the Digital Campaign category
• Gold in the Conversational Strategy category
• Gold in the Customer Experience Strategy category
• Gold in the Best Use of Content category
• Silver in the Social Media – Post (single post) category
• Silver in the Brand Activation category

This is the first time in the history of the Idéa Awards that the same campaign has won the “Grand Prix” in both advertising creation and business results/strategy.

In addition to the nine awards for “La langue de chez nous,” several other RONA/Sid Lee campaigns and initiatives were awarded at the ceremony.

Among them:

• RON A pas dit son dernier mot won Gold in the Video category, Silver in the Talent Attraction, Mobilization and Retention category, and Bronze in the Connection – Planning category. This initiative was rolled out during RONA’s 2024 recruitment campaign, with Ron Fournier hosting a Facebook Live stream after a Montréal Canadiens game.
• The Heritage campaign won Silver in the Art Direction category and Bronze in the Production – Advertisement Film for a Service, Product or Retailer category. This campaign wasdeveloped to mark RONA’s 85th anniversary and shows the evolution of the home improvement market in a humorous way, from yesterday’s trends to today.
• The RénoveRONAimeca campaign won Bronze in the Music category. This campaign was rolled out across the country in early 2024 to promote the company’s focus on people who love to create, uniting professional experts and DIYers alike.
• L’hymne aux outils won Silver in the Sound Design category. This anthem was composed for “Le Hockey des Canadiens” on RDS, reproducing the “Hockey Night in Canada” melody with various sounds that are associated with construction and renovation.
• Le Grand Chantier RONA, in collaboration with Bell Media, won Gold in the Media Partner category. Indeed, RONA is a proud partner of the most popular home improvement show in Québec.
• The Client of the Year award, a brand-new category in this year’s competition, was also presented to RONA.

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