Continuing a shift towards digital marketing first adopted two years ago, hardware retailer Rona is using the Toronto Star Touch and La Presse+ tablet apps to launch a new interactive holiday catalogue.
The “Customize Your Holidays” catalogue showcases Rona holiday-related products aligning with four themed collections: Winter Wonderland, Cottage Holidays, Fancy Holidays and Cozy Cocooning.
The catalogue appeared in the Nov. 14 and Nov. 21 editions of the Toronto Star Touch product, with subsequent ads in the app prompting readers to revisit the publication in those dates. La Presse+, meanwhile, collects its online magazines within a dedicated section in the app called “Hors-Série” (special edition).
The collections promote holiday staples including ornaments, lights and Christmas trees. “Almost everything we carry for Christmas is in there,” said Rona’s Montreal-based senior director of marketing strategies, Marlène Hins.
The catalogues are aimed at “modern families” who are avid online shoppers.
While Rona has retained the 16-page print catalogue that has been a fixture of its holiday marketing for many years (it is being distributed via Publi-Sac in Quebec and in community newspapers across Canada), Hins said the app-based catalogue is designed to bring its products to life for consumers.
The company has also partnered with Quebec celebrity chef Ricardo to create content including a signature cocktail and a recipe that complements each of the four themes. Each collection also features a dedicated audio track that plays as consumers browse the catalogue.
The app-based catalogue was developed in association with Rona’s media agency Carat and creative agency Sid Lee.
Rona first experimented with a digital catalogue during the key spring sales period. Hins said the initiative’s success – it reached more than 100,000 viewers with the La Presse+ product – convinced the retailer to use it again for the holiday period.
The app-based program is part of a larger integrated campaign spanning print, web and in-store marketing that showcases Rona’s holiday product assortment.
Last week, the Toronto Star announced its free Toronto Star Touch product has been downloaded more than 100,000 times since its Sept. 15 debut, with time spent with the product already three times greater than its previous tablet product. The company has stated that its goal is to achieve 180,000 downloads by the end of 2016.
