Toys R Us Inc. has named Toronto agency Open the agency of record for the Toys R Us Canada and Babies R Us Canada retail chains, and chosen Paradigm Public Relations as its Canadian PR agency of record.
Open, which announced the client win Tuesday, will develop national creative campaigns (in French and English) and across various media platforms including radio, print and online.
According to Open founding partner and creative director Martin Beauvais, there was no formal review. The agency was chosen for its track record with retail marketers and the fact that Open can market the brands in both official languages.
“We want to give them a smart retail experience,” said Beauvais. “I like retail brands because you can really see the presentation and effect quickly.”
Beauvais said there are campaigns currently in development, although Open has already put a national radio campaign for Babies “R” Us Canada in market for the week-long Baby Fest sale. The major challenge going forward, he said, will be keeping Toys R Us Canada and Babies R Us Canada in the forefront of the retail landscape, especially with large-scale competitors such as Target entering the market.
Open was founded in 2010 and in the last six months has landed a number of notable accounts including Prime Restaurants (which owns the Bier Market, Fionn MacCool’s, D’Arcy McGee’s and Paddy Flaherty’s chains) as well as Okanagan Spring and Old Milwaukee
Toy R Us also recently hired Paradigm Public Relations to handle its two retail brands. “We selected Paradigm Public Relations due to the agency’s strong creativity and demonstrated expertise in reaching our target audience,” said Liz MacDonald, vice-president, marketing and store planning. “Paradigm’s experience in communicating with moms and its ability to deliver results for both traditional media and social media campaigns makes them an excellent partner for us.”
Toys R Us and Babies R Us operate 74 stores nationwide. In January, the company parted ways with Toronto-based MDC agency Union.
