Canadian Tire Corporation - Brand Experience of the Year - Consumer

Company: Canadian Tire Corporation
Company Description: Canadian Tire Corporation Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors.
Nomination Category: Marketing Campaign Categories - Specialty
Nomination Sub Category: Brand Experience of the Year - Consumer

Nomination Title: Canadian Tire Christmas Trail

Specify the date on which this brand experience campaign or program was launched:
The Canadian TireChristmas Trail was open to employees, media, influencers and the general public from November 7ththroughDecember 23rd when provicial COVID-19 restrictions forced the ultimate closure of the Trial.

Canadian Tire’s (CT) brand purpose is to be there for the jobs and joys of life in Canada, no matter what life looks like. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced this purpose, as the retailer was heavily relied on to provide essential products and services to keep Canadians safe while they navigated the pandemic. During the holiday season,the busiest and most important to its business,CT was forced to reconsider how it would engage with its stakeholders, amidst the cancellation of most holiday events due to COVID-19.

CT,“Canada’s Christmas Store,”saw the opportunity to show Canadians how they could still celebrate the season safely, knowing their desire to do so still exists. CT rose to the challenge of creating new and unique ways to bring the magic of Christmas to Canadians. The creative solution needed to defend the brand’s position as Canada’s Christmas Store and reinforce its brand purpose of being there for Canadians.

Thestrategy was to show up for Canadians by providing ways to celebrate cherished Christmas traditions and safely create new ones, reinforcing thatwhile Christmas 2020 felt different, the magic was still very much alive.

Cue Canadian Tire’s Christmas Trail (the Trail): a 1.5-kilometre multi-sensory drive-along experience on the historic Black Creek Pioneer Village siteinToronto. Media, influencers, employees and thegeneral publicexperienced the enchantment of Christmas by driving through a winter wonderland, witnessing holiday lights, carolers and of course, Santa and his elves, all from the safety of their vehicles.

The campaignobjectives were:

-Drive brand affinity and defend CT’s position as Canada’s Christmas Store while reinforcing its purpose of being there for Canadians;
-Design an activation that offered stakeholders a way to celebrate and preserve beloved Christmas traditions;
-Generate positive word-of-mouth awareness and excitement through traditional and social media channels;
-Financially contribute to CT’s non-profit organization Jumpstart Charities (Jumpstart).

Designed for “the young and young at heart,” the demographic of CT’s key stakeholders, the Trail contained nostalgic elements that charmed families with young children while also appealing to adults. Residents of the Greater Toronto Area could experience the physical Trail, while the magic of the Trail was amplified through media stories and social content across the country.

Through a phased communications strategy, CT was successfully able to drive awareness and defend its position as Canada’s Christmas Store, thanks to multiple touchpoints with stakeholders, including:

-A ‘first look’ with employees to show appreciation for their hard work in 2020 and troubleshoot any issues;
-A three-day media and influencer preview to provide holiday-related content and stories, leveraging organic social content to drive awareness and ticket sales;
-Exclusive experiences for Triangle Rewards loyalty members along the Trail;
-Jumpstart donation from ticket proceeds.

The Trail also included:

-Curated,Instagrammablevignettes featuring stunning assortments of Christmas décor to create shareablephotos;
-A safe photo opportunity with Santa to fill the void for families unable to get their traditional photo in2020;
-A comprehensive microsite and email alias for ticket purchases and streamlined communications.

The Trail achieved three consecutive ticket sell outs, and CT’s campaign objectives were achieved and exceeded as follows:

Drive brand affinity and defend CT’s position as Canada’s Christmas Store: The post-event Trail survey distributed to approx. 5,000 guests had a 40% response rate and revealed:

average Net Promoter Score of 9.4/10;
90% would recommend the Trail to friends and family;
63% felt the Trail increased their perception of CT as a leading Christmas retailer;
98% of employees who attended the Trail said it made them feel proud to be an employee.

Reach as many key internal and external stakeholders as possible: 22,137 guests visited the Trail over the 41-day activation, including over 2,244 employees, executives, partners, and their guests.

Generate positive word-of-mouth awareness via media and social channels:

-102 media and influencer attendees, 653 pieces of organic influencer content and 1.5M social impressions, 107.6K social engagements on Instagram;

-49 media stories generating 27.8M impressions, 100% brand mention in coverage; “CT is keeping the magic of Christmas alive” key message in 83% of coverage;

-Covered by 2/3major Torontomorning shows and top tier national outlets including: The Weather Network, The Globe and Mail,Narcity, Global News and Toronto’s #1 Christmas Music station, 98.1 CHFI.

-Make a significant contribution Jumpstart Charities: Currently, $149,085.00 is to be donated.

Links:

Please find the Canadian Tire Christmas Trail 2020 Visual Summary linked here: https: //vimeo.com/504445090/3b4ac40db8

Please find supporting documents here. This includes: https: //drive.google.com/file/d/1nTR9mJUF5gweTMPpA6woHV7-hzk9Ibbl/view

-Final Trail Proposal and Activation Plan

-Key results and measurement

-Consumer Testimonials