Yesterday Sears Canada presented its rebranding strategy. It includes a modified Sears logo and a new marketing campaign including the commercial above. We’re not sure if Sears will win-over Canadians but we applaud their efforts. We think Sears would do best by surrendering their ‘better mall’ leases for Nordstrom (with ample compensation) and we’ll leave that decision to their CEO who is busy overhauling the company.
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| Sears Canada president and CEO Calvin MacDonald describes his vision for merchandising. A store is a “stage for products.” Photo by Vicki Gilhula. |
We are posting text from The Toronto Star:
“Sears Canada launches dramatic new rebrand
TheStar.com
Francine Kopun
Business Reporter
7 November 2012
Sears Canada launched a bouncy new rebrand on Wednesday morning, aimed at wooing back old customers and winning new ones using a mix of nostalgia and emotion.
The new tag line is Make Every Day a Great Day, and plants Sears firmly in the space discount retailer Target hopes to occupy when it opens its first stores in Canada in the spring.
The new campaign uses humour and emotion to reach out to customers.
Sears is celebrating 60 years in Canada. The new commercial features snippets of home movies submitted by Sears associates and plays on the relationship Sears has enjoyed in Canada as a general merchandise department store, selling everything from lawnmowers to lingerie, hockey sticks, hula hoops and bar stools.
The Sears logo isn’t revealed until the end of the ad, after a question pops up on the screen: “Today is a gift. What will you do with it?”
“When we started thinking about how we were going to refresh our position and talk to our customers, we really started with looking at what we sell,” said CEO Calvin McDonald, who took over the faltering retailer in 2011.
“We sell more wants than needs. What wants deliver is inspiration and emotion, happiness, and that was really the emotion we focused on for our brand and tag line.
“A lawnmower isn’t about cutting grass, it’s about making a soccer field . . . a toaster isn’t just a toaster, it makes a great morning.”
McDonald said he wanted to make the tag line a rallying cry for associates for delivering great service to customers.
The Sears logo will remain basically the same, although the blue has been lightened and a new font, designed uniquely for the rebrand, will replace the older one.
McDonald rolled out the new brand to associates at the Sears Eaton Centre location on Wednesday morning before the store opened for business.
Target has built strong success in the U.S. by focusing on a bright and fun customer experience and great prices for unique goods.
“I think this is a very different campaign, and very different position and tone. The tag is different, the tone, humour and emotion is different. Our service model is different, I think our value proposition is different,” said McDonald.
The campaign was created by the Unitas Reputation Agency, which began working with Sears in May.”
