Case Study / Destination Ontario

People spent 150 days watching us boat the Rideau Canal.

We had no idea what to expect on a houseboat. Destination Ontario wanted people to see how easy the Rideau Canal is to get to and how little you need to know before you go, so that worked in our favor. We picked up a Le Boat in Smiths Falls, put our dog on board, and filmed ourselves figuring it out.

Chris and Sara on a Le Boat houseboat on Ontario's Rideau Canal

108,343

Views across the film and Instagram

8:42

Average view on the film

75.1%

First-time viewers on the film

57.8%

Of watch time on a TV

The route we took

4 days on the Rideau Smiths Falls to Westport and back, then Ottawa

Day 1

Smiths Falls to Westport

Day 2

Westport to Chaffey's Lock

Day 3

Chaffey's Lock to Colonel By Island

Day 4

Back to Smiths Falls

Day 5

Ottawa

Deliverable 01

The film

Published August 22, 2026

Destination Ontario hired us for one long-form film and Instagram content. We shot it over a week in late May and early June, starting in Smiths Falls.

It went up as a YouTube collaboration, so it lives on our channel and shows up on theirs under their name too. They can pull the analytics themselves anytime.

The film runs 36 minutes, and the average viewer stayed for 8 minutes and 42 seconds. Add it all up and people watched 3,600 hours of it. YouTube found most of that audience on its own, with 91% of views coming from its recommendations. Three in four viewers had never seen our channel before, and more than half the watch time happened on a TV.

Watch the film

Boating the Rideau Canal in Ontario with Le Boat

Deliverable 02

The Reel

Published August 24, 2026

We posted it as a collab with @ontariotravel, so it went out on their account and ours at the same time with both names on it.

It picked up 14,845 views from 11,680 people, and 90.6% of them didn't follow us. Most were between 25 and 54.

Watch the Reel

View this Reel on Instagram

Deliverable 03

The carousel

Published August 27, 2026

This one was also a collab with @ontariotravel, and it ended up being the biggest piece on Instagram. It reached 22,700 people and got 55,810 views.

94.2% of the people who saw it don't follow us, and more than three quarters were between 25 and 54.

See the carousel

View this post on Instagram

The numbers

A month in.

These cover about the first month after each piece went out. We pulled them from YouTube Studio, Instagram and KingSumo on September 29, and the film is still picking up views.

The film YouTube, published August 22

37,688

Views

20,200

People who watched

3,600

Hours watched

8:42

Average view

Instagram Reel and carousel, published August 24 and 27

70,655

Views

34,380

People reached

94.2%

Non-followers on the carousel

90.6%

Non-followers on the Reel

The giveaway Hosted with Le Boat, who provided the prize

629

People entered

6,607

Total entries

11.85%

Of visitors entered

YouTube Studio, Instagram insights and KingSumo, September 29, 2026.

What they said

“Working with Chris and Sara on their piece about slower travel with Le Boat on the Rideau Canal was an absolute pleasure. They brought a genuine curiosity and enthusiasm to the experience, capturing not just the beauty of the destination, but what makes slow travel so special, taking the time to enjoy the journey, the scenery, and the moments along the way. They were professional, easygoing, and a joy to collaborate with throughout. Their storytelling feels authentic and engaging, and they have a real talent for bringing an experience to life.”

Jen Curtis

Social Media Marketing Manager, Destination Ontario

Work with us

Have something worth filming?

We make long-form films about the thing you want people to notice, and short-form to get them there. Tell us what you're working on and we'll tell you what we'd make.

Email us

More work

564,748 people found this bike route in two weeks

Tourisme Cantons-de-l'Est

How a giveaway pulled 733 email addresses out of one film

Black Prince Holidays

13 million views on connected TV, in living rooms

Peloton