The Retail Advertising and Marketing Club of Canada (RAC) will host the inaugural Retail Advertising Awards at a gala event in Toronto Oct. 15.
The program will honour nine finalists in three categories. The finalists were determined via a survey the RAC sent to members of Canada’s retail community earlier this year, a questionnaire that asked respondents to rate 120 retailers based on both their advertising and marketing communications and overall relevance to consumers.
McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada, Starbucks Coffee Canada and Tim Horton’s are the finalists in the Quick-Serve Restaurants category; Indigo Books & Music, IKEA Canada and Canadian Tire comprise the top three in the Large Mass Retailer category, and Laura Canada, Marks Work Wearhouse and Harry Rosen compete in the Apparel & Fashion segment.
One gold winner will be selected in each category at the event next week.
“We wanted to start an awards event that really recognized a ‘people’s choice’ in terms of who people’s favourite retailers are,” said Stephen Gardner, a member of the RAC board of directors and founder of Toronto production house Gardner Productions.
“This is how we wanted to kick-start the campaign, and in years ahead we’ll evolve it with more awards. But we wanted to keep it simple: what retailers have had the most impact on you as a consumer?”
The RAC is a partner of the Retail Council of Canada.
