Sears Canada has begun working with its new agency of record, Toronto’s Bimm, which replaced The Unitas Reputation Agency without a review.
The department store chain has been working with Bimm on smaller projects primarily around private label brands since early 2013. Sears “expanded” the relationship with Bimm in November, said Clint Gaudry vice-president of marketing at Sears Canada.
“[Bimm] strategically understood what we were trying to do and they demonstrated they would add value to the opportunities that we were trying to seize in market,” he told Marketing.
The retailer spent the last year trying to identify the consumer segment in Canada that it was “going to have the biggest opportunity to win with,” said Gaudry.
When asked specifically about that segment, Gaudry echoed the sentiments of Sears Canada president and chief executive Doug Campbell who made headlines when told the Calgary Herald that its focus is on middle Canada – a class that retailers are “essentially abandoning.”
“I think Canada has seen a lot of entry into the luxury and high end segment and we’ve certainly had a lot of attack coming in at the lower and mass,” said Gaudry. “Sears has got that middle territory and a huge opportunity to win as it relates to value of dollars spent and style.”
Bimm had a hand in creating Sears’ spring campaign that launched a few weeks ago and is currently focusing on back-to-school and other seasonal occasions.
Sears had been with Unitas since May 2012, and worked with BBDO before that.
The retailer will continue to use the “Make Every Day a Great Day” tagline but will further define it and bring it to life in more meaningful ways, said Gaudry.
