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Mark’s brings ‘well-worn’ message to everyday Canadians

By Justin Dallaire
May 2, 2019

Mark’s continues to push beyond its work-wear roots in its latest “Well Worn” effort, this time through a docuseries based on a travelling jacket designed to help tell the stories of its hard-working, Canadian audience.

The more than 40-year-old clothing retailer launched the campaign last month, with assistance from Taxi on creative, building on a working-class oriented platform that first launched in November 2017 and that emphasizes the brand’s values of hard work and dependability.

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Creative includes three spots running on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. One tells the story of a woman who, in order to become a lobster fisherman, had to overcome the sexism of her industry. Another explores the life of man who has left his former life as a fashion photographer to pursue woodcarving. Finally, there’s the man who decides to feed thousands of hungry people per day using food that would otherwise be unnecessarily wasted.

The work centres around “The Well Worn Collective,” a roster of Canadian ambassadors who share the values of the Mark’s brand and represent what it means to be “well worn,” said David Lui, the company’s VP of marketing, via email. He says the individuals – including Ricky Forbes from the Netflix show Tornado Hunters and Troy Stecher from the Vancouver Canucks, who have been featured in social posts and PR efforts – bring Mark’s brand values to life. “As we share their stories, they become the voice of our brand.”

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“The Well Worn Collective is becoming the foundation of the brand, having real people communicate the values of what our brand stand for,” Lui say. “The creative we produce with these people will become our creative at all levels of our media strategy. From driving brand awareness in mass media to engagement through long form storytelling, to the influencers who tell the story for us.”

The stories of the collective are being brought to life through a “Most Well Worn Jacket” that is travelling across the country collecting custom-designed patches representing the values of each brand ambassador selected to wear it. Mark’s has also dedicated a section of its website to telling their stories.

The initial concept of the “Well Worn” platform was to show everyday people accomplishing great things through their passion and commitment. The strategic approach has played out in a number of campaigns since, helping Mark’s bring more focus to its selection of casual wear. Last year, it ran a French extension of the platform for L’Equipeur in Quebec.

For the latest effort, Mark’s worked with Veritas on PR and Touché on media.

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