Sport Chek has named TBWA\Chiat\Day New York its lead agency.
The retailer has added the U.S. agency to its roster of creative and strategic partners. TBWA joins Touche (media), North Strategic (PR and social media), S&E (sponsorship) and Rethink Communications (content and creative), all of which work on the FGL Sports-owned retailer and its Quebec-based sister brand Sports Experts. TBWA’s Toronto office will offer support on the account.
The company will also continue to work with TSN as a content partner.
Frederick Lecoq, senior vice-president of marketing at FGL Sports, used a sports metaphor to explain his multi-agency approach. “We had an incredible existing roster of partners we work with,” he said. “The thinking is: keep on building the roster, keep on making your team as good as possible. Maybe we already had a good goalie and a good winger, but we needed a good centre. Now we’re bringing a good centre in – and that’s not detrimental to the wingers or the goalie or anyone else.”
Sid Lee was the retailer’s most recent agency of record, but the two parted ways last May when Sport Chek decided to move away from an AOR model as its marketing needs change, and digital and content become a greater focus.
Sport Chek selected TBWA as an agency partner after meeting with team members from both its New York and Toronto offices in July. Lecoq said he was attracted to the agency because of its reputation for disruptive work including creative for clients like Apple, Pepsi and Adidas.
“There’s a connection: here’s an agency that’s really deep into disruption and we’ve [also] made disruption our foundational piece,” Lecoq said. Moving forward, he plans to task TBWA with “disrupting” marketing initiatives he considers successful, like Sport Chek’s “My North” campaign.
“We’re in this mindset: if I don’t disrupt my business, if I don’t innovate and step away from the traditional old mindset of retail culture, then I’m going to die,” Lecoq said.
The first creative from TBWA is expected to go to market early next year during the NBA All-Star Game weekend.
TBWA\Chiat\Day New York CEO Rob Schwartz told Marketing he sees big creative opportunities for the brand based on the emotional connection it has been able to strike with its marketing platforms like “Your Better Starts Here” and “All Sweat Is Equal.”
“They understand athletes,” Schwartz said. “And I think if there could be a retailer that could tell as good, if not a better truth than a Nike or an Under Armour, then you’ve got something special.”
