TTC regulars stepping onto the Queen Street West line yesterday were in for a surprise.
A streetcar, which was wrapped in CF Toronto Eaton Centre advertising, had been remodeled to resemble a walk-in closet for a one-day execution. Featuring items from a select group of retailers opening shop in the mall’s upcoming expansion, the execution marked the first-ever takeover – inside and outside – of a TTC vehicle. And to introduce visitors to the selected wardrobe wear and accouterments was celebrity stylist, Elizabeth Cabral.
In addition to showcasing its new retail partners on the TTC yesterday, the mobile closet will appear as an installation within the new mall space between today and the end of October.
The campaign was developed as a collaboration among agencies and the team at Cadillac Fairview (the Eaton Centre’s property management company). Traffik led creative, with BBR handling media, North Strategic on PR and social and SapientNitro on digital.
The execution marks the christening of additional space on the second floor of the shopping centre, where 71,000 more square feet includes 23 new retail stores including first-to-retail brands like Reiss, Oak & Foot and Shoo, a Steve Madden brand.
The mobile closet campaign was a way to bring attention to the second phase of the mall’s expansion following a rebranding across all of Cadillac Fairview’s shopping centre properties, while doing something playful and fun, says Craig Flannagan, VP marketing at CF. The third phase will see Sak’s Fifth Avenue opening its doors in the mall in spring of 2016, Nordstrom also making its Canadian debut in fall of that year and H&M expanding its presence to become the largest of its storefronts in Canada.
The execution also marks a shift in the company’s strategy to be more consumer-centric. “The shift has been in understanding that we can have a relationship with consumers and that we want one,” he said, speaking on board the streetcar about straddling the space between retailers and consumers. To address that change the mall property owner is beginning to respond to the question: “How do our properties make you feel?”
Cadillac Fairview visitors want this kind of inspirational advice and perspective, says Flannagan. The company’s strategy is two-fold – to focus on creating inspiration, while achieving efficiency. To that end it has developed a “CF Shop!” mall app that allows visitors to map their journeys, find parking lots and exits, make to-do and shopping lists and move easily from one end of the mall to the other. The app also delivers inspiration lists curated by theme and season, such as back-to-school lists with featured items and where to get them.
From Media in Canada
