Roots Canada is rolling out a holiday campaign through early November to showcase its apparel and leather goods using images of Banff and Jasper National Park as backdrops.
The campaign – which includes major daily newspaper ads, online content and in-store marketing – represents a new partnership with Travel Alberta in which both brands hope to reach young-minded, adventurous consumers.
The campaign officially launches Nov. 10 at a VIP event in Beverly Hills to which travel and fashion press, professional athletes and celebrities have been invited. At the event, a video from the photo shoot in the Alberta parks will be officially unveiled (see below).
Roots is also putting together an album of campaign images on Facebook and Flickr, using the images to create “look books” for its printed advertising vehicles, including Fashion, Flare and gift guide inserts in daily newspapers like The Globe and Mail.
By Nov. 12, Roots also plans to give all its stores – four in the U.S., 50 in Asia and about 120 in Canada – a look reminiscent of a cozy log cabin. In-store promotional material will include Travel Alberta signage that speak to the unique winter experience in Alberta.
Marney St. John, director of partnership marketing for Travel Alberta, said the campaign allows the province “to associate our destinations with an iconic Canadian brand, particularly in our key international markets – the U.S. and China, where we don’t have a lot of awareness.”
For Roots, the partnership is the latest it has forged over the last year-and-a-half with destination marketing organizations such as BC Tourism and Travel Newfoundland and Labrador.
“These partnerships are an evolution of the fact that we are a very Canadian brand, and why not work in this area to produce some fantastic images and videos that promote various regions of Canada,” said James Connell, vice-president of e-commerce and marketing for Roots Canada.
Conceived and executed mostly in-house, the only external partner on the campaign was Rylan Perry, the New York-based fashion photographer who shot the campaign.
