Upper Canada mall finds its voice with style bloggers

GTA mall taps online influencers for fashion-forward video series

Upper Canada Mall (UCM) is tapping online style influencers to better connect with young professional women and moms.

In February, the Newmarket, Ont. mall launched a video series called “Style Secrets,” which provides style trends and tips from Toronto-area fashion and lifestyle bloggers. In the latest video, blogger Joëlle Anello of La Petite Noob reveals her six makeup bag essentials for spring.

UCM first started working with influencers last May, when it launched a series called “Get Gorgeous Sessions,” which featured Q&As with style bloggers.

For example, in one video, fashion and lifestyle blogger Gracie Carroll talks about what inspires her style, and how to style looks for the holidays.


“We wanted to provide an authentic voice and point of view to our customers, letting them know that Upper Canada Mall is the best destination for fashion north of the GTA,” said marketing director Jennifer Kleinberg.

“Bloggers have a great way of connecting with their audience. They’re authentic, and if they don’t believe in what they’re promoting, they won’t promote it,” she added. “So we knew that by tapping into popular GTA bloggers, we could spread our message of great fashion and great retailers beyond the reaches of our traditional trade area.”

Upper Canada Mall is targeting women in their mid-20s, right up to fashionable, stylish moms in their 30s and early 40s, said Kleinberg.

“On the younger end, these are women who are developing their professional career and perhaps they’ve just gotten married or they’re looking to start their family,” she said. “And when we look at the moms, these are the moms who do it all. They’re fashionable, they’re professionals, they run their household, they take care of the children. So it was really hitting that sweet spot of the mom who does it all and that young professional.”

To date, videos in both series have generated more than 137,000 views. Upper Canada Mall also saw an increase of 1,500 likes on Facebook, 875 followers on Twitter, and more than 1,200 followers on Instagram from the start of the series to March 2016.

“We take beautiful campaign images every season and they look absolutely stunning, but to show how to use products and how to put outfits together brings the whole experience to life,” said Kleinberg.

“There is so much messaging in traditional media, so to have a blogger or an influencer say ‘this is the product I use, this is how I use it,’ gives it that authenticity and provides that expert opinion.”

UCM plans to continue with Style Secrets throughout the year, with new videos launching this summer. UCM and its PR agency, Jive Communications, developed the videos.

The shopping centre has also announced Jessica Mulroney as the face of its spring/summer 2016 “Gorgeous” campaign. The lifestyle expert will be on the cover of the spring issue of UCM’s bi-annual Gorgeous magazine and attend the Gorgeous Shoebox Event at UCM on April 24. Women are invited to bring a female friend to fill shoeboxes with personal items and inspirational notes for homeless or at-risk women, to benefit The Shoebox Project for Shelters, a non-profit initiative created by Mulroney and her three sisters-in-law.

On April 18, UCM is launching its revamped online platform for Gorgeous. The new site features hidden content including videos, photos and recipes; surprise product pop-ups; interactive fashion activities and contesting.

 

 

 

 

 

See all comments Recent Comments
Sherry Johnston

Calling bloggers in a promotion of the business is a great idea. Opinion leaders have a quite big audience and a great way of connecting with the followers. They usually promote that thing that they believe in because otherwise the audience can unfollow them. The bloggers have skills to communicate with readers by writing excellent articles, shooting beautiful photos and videos. But hiring bloggers is expensive. That’s why it’s cheaper to use writing services like http://essaywriting.education/ if the company is looking for a content writer.

Wednesday, April 13 @ 8:47 am |

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