Canadian Tire: SPIRIT TREE

Credits & Description:

Category: Retail and E-commerce, including Restaurants

Advertiser: CANADIAN TIRE

Product/Service: CANADIAN TIRE

Agency: DDB CANADA/TORONTO

Agency: HIGH ROAD COMMUNICATIONS

Creative Director: Louis-Philippe Tremblay (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Technology Director: Joe Dee (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Art Director: Mara Binudin (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Copywriter: Ryan Lawrence (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Director Of Production: Catherine Kim (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Agency Producer: Luc Quartarone (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Designer: Roger Dario (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Managing Director: Andrew McCartney (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Account Manager: Kaezad Nalleseth (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Tribal Developer: Paul Sham (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Community Cultivation Manager: Laura Muirhead (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Social Media Director: Ed Lee (DDB Canada / Tribal Toronto)

Interactive Developer: Rob Etmanski

Interactive Developer: Dana Brousseau

: Textopoly (Textopoly)

Public Relations Agency: High Road Communications (High Road Communications)

Production Company: Ima Outdoor (Ima Outdoor)

: Moment Factory (Moment Factory)

: Cube Productions (Cube Productions)

: Keystone Studios (Keystone Studios)

Media placement: Blogger outreach - Online - Dec 15 – Dec 21, 2011

Media placement: Traditional media outreach - TV and print - Dec 10 – Dec 13, 2011

Media placement: Event - Toronto's Union Station - Dec 12, 2011



Summary of the Campaign

Canadian Tire is Canada’s leading Christmas store, but in recent years they’d noticed that the Christmas spirit was fading; it was losing the magic that made it so special, and they were losing the consumer awareness that made them #1.



Online though, spirit was alive and well and growing.



What they needed was a way to reignite this fading Christmas spirit in the hearts and minds of people across Canada.



So we created a magical Christmas event unlike any before. With traditional Christmas carolers, warm beverages, delicious Christmas cookies, and CSRs engaging visitors, we unveiled the world’s first Christmas tree powered by Christmas spirit, a magical Christmas experience that let people light up a 30-foot tall Christmas tree simply by sharing their messages of Christmas cheer.



At the same time, we were engaging in both traditional and digital media outreach to deliver the Christmas Spirit Tree message and drive consumers to visit the tree, either in person or online.



The outcome was remarkable. Not only did we get a fantastic reception from Canadian consumers, but we were also recognised locally and globally by both traditional and digital media outlets, and Canadian Tire saw a direct increase in sales as a result of our efforts.



The Situation

Canadian Tire is the leading retailer for all things at Christmas in Canada. From trees to décor to dinner preparation, Canadian Tire has it all.



Over the last few years, they’d noticed a change. Christmas spirit and the celebration of Christmas, not as a religious or retail holiday but as a magical time of year full of joy and wonder, was in decline.



The Goal

The goal of the campaign was to re-ignite the excitement of Christmas, and especially Christmas at Canadian Tire, with consumers, while at the same time, generating sales and revenue for Canadian Tire’s Christmas and kitchen product categories.



The Strategy

For us, the strategy was simple, get people talking about the Christmas Spirit Tree and get them to go and experience it in person or online.



Traditional media outreach was used on a local level to get the tree featured in both newspapers and TV news.



Online, blogger outreach targeted local, national, tech, and advertising/marketing related blogs, each with its own specific purpose and target in mind.



Finally, a special launch/unveiling event was held to which we invited local media and featured live Christmas carolers, warm beverages, Christmas cookies, and CSRs to engage visitors to the tree.



Execution

The launch event was a special half-day event. CSRs, however, returned to the tree to engage passers-by intermittently throughout the campaign period.



An initial PR outreach took place to local media the week immediately preceding the launch, during construction of the tree.



After launch, we reached out to a select group of bloggers with whom we shared secret Christmas keywords that, when shared with the tree, triggered secret lighting animations.



Documented Results

From the launch event, as a direct result of the coupons, Canadian Tire earned more than $500,000 in incremental revenue.



What’s more, in just over 2 weeks, Christmas Spirit Tree also received:



• 20m earned impressions

• 1.8m+ minutes of content consumed online (1,275 days)

• Average of 7+ minutes spent on the site

• Mentions on more than 1,400 blogs and news outlets, including Global News, PSFK, and MSNBCs Today Show.

• Site visits from 170 different countries