Tested for life in 2013 – and ready for it
Canadian Tire Corporation made big investments across its retail banners this year, forging strategic partnerships with the country’s top sports organizations, emphasizing digital technology in-store and online, and demonstrating to consumers its dedication to quality products.
• Canadian Tire Corporation entered an eight-year sponsorship agreement with the Canadian Olympic Committee and partnerships with six other leading amateur sport groups, including Hockey Canada. The Toronto-based company also inked deals with Senators Sports & Entertainment in Ottawa and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in Toronto that move beyond rink boards and names on a building, says Duncan Fulton, chief marketing officer for Canadian Tire’s FGL Sports division. The deals provide Canadian Tire and its umbrella brands with clothing sponsorships, branded experiences and cross-promotional opportunities.
• Canadian Tire enlisted the help of its customers to test a selection of products including tents, windshield wipers and a battery-operated chainsaw. Poorly ranking items were pulled from the shelf and the highest rated products featured in television commercials from Taxi using the “Tested for Life in Canada” tagline. Meanwhile, Mark’s embarked on a repositioning effort after extensive consumer surveys suggested the retailer’s efforts would be better focused on growing its urban customer base, and specifically 35- to 50-year-old males. Mark’s introduced the new brand position and tagline, “Ready for this” with television and transit ads from Sid Lee.
• Signaling its commitment to technology, Canadian Tire recently moved a team of five employees into Communitech—an innovation lab in Waterloo, Ont. funded partially by the Ontario government—to experiment with new digital experiences for both its online properties and retail locations. Another move into digital: a new interactive online catalogue called The Canadian Way to better showcase Canadian Tire products. The online hub, developed by Tribal DDB, is divided into is four sections: living, fixing, playing and driving and links back to the Canadian Tire website.
You can find out who will be named our Marketer of the Year on Jan. 29 at our Best of 2013 cocktail party. Want to attend? Lots of important people will be there. Visit us online for more information.
