The Bay

The Bay was looking for not only a new campaign, but a new way of doing business. For most women, the department store had become a place they might occasionally go for sales or to buy cosmetics – but not a destination for the things they enjoy shopping for. Faced with competition from American retailers, big box chains and shopping websites, John St. concluded that a disruption of perception and behaviour was necessary to revitalize the Bay brand.

In fashion retail there are five seasons. The insight: each season is another opportunity for shoppers to re-examine the items in their lives, everything from clothing to décor. The agency’s strategy was to create a major style event based on category, brand and consumer insights. The focus was “beautiful,” which had to be the filter for all the communications and merchandising to help challenge shoppers’ perceptions of the Bay.

The first event, “Garden Party,” launched in spring 2007. It was based on the insight that women take pride in being perfect hostesses. The theme drove all merchandising and communications inside and out of the store. The TV spot, for example, featured a fashionable hostess escorting her guests through her house, slipping off her shoes and exiting through the back entrance into a garden where a dinner party was in progress. Radio complemented the campaign, featuring specific product categories and promotions. Street events were staged outside certain store locations, where women were handed a tulip with a card attached describing the “Garden Party” event going on at the Bay. DM, specially themed shopping bags and POS elements supplemented the effort.

The agency’s second event, which launched this summer, was “Boom! The Style Revolution.”

Early indications are positive for the new approach. Execs at the brand recognize that the evolution is a long-term effort, but based on feedback from internal teams and initial customer response, they say the brand is headed in the right direction