Sport Chek is hitting the slopes to push its winter apparel.

The Canadian Tire-owned retailer’s latest spot sees skiers stuck on a chairlift for some “family hang time,” while the camera zooms in to hero outerwear and ski boots.

As Eva Salem, Canadian Tire’s senior VP of marketing and brand recently told strategy, for its Sport Chek banner it had relied on functional tactics, and that high-level strategic discussions led to new commitments to reinvest in more compelling marketing.

According to Stephanie Wall, Sport Chek’s VP of marketing, a family stuck dangling in malleable mountain weather was a good way to convey the concept of the need to adequately outfit the whole family, and that winter is fun when you have the right gear, and not so much when you don’t.

The spot also makes use of checkmarks, a conceit the brand has been using for the past two years, which according to Wall, is an effective way to highlight products and to build equity and recall.

Wall tells strategy that the family concept continues the retailer’s positioning around emphasizing that it’s about democratizing sporting goods, rather than focusing on high-performance athletes, and that despite being a mass retailer, it’s still accessible with varying pricepoint items.

The core consumer, Wall says, is an “active wellness optimizer,” a family with lots of activities planned and who overindexes in terms of the number of kids under the age of 18. They also drive more often than other demographics – a reflection of their commitment to the outdoors and team sports.

With team sports on hold during lockdowns, Sport Chek was compelled to change its seasonal cycle. However, now Wall says the retailer is excited about the role sports play in people’s lives as circumstances normalize.

“We did see some pent-up demand,” Wall says.

Wall says the brand wants to remind customers it’s there, a strategy which also includes a robust omnichannel presence too. For example, the retailer has teamed up with DoorDash, and if you are a consumer in an active postal code, you can get gear delivered to your home in two hours.

The “Hang Time” campaign has a TV component, with OLV, PR as well as Facebook and Instagram. Sport Chek has also been testing and learning with platforms such as TikTok, part of its family-first positioning and targeting younger consumers.

Ad spend, Wall says, is in line with past efforts, and she says that it’s continuing to invest in top of line, long-term brand building and tactical investments.

Touche! was the media agency and creative was handled in-house. PR support was through Veritas and Sport Chek’s in-house team.