The French-owned sportswear retailer’s first-ever national campaign in Canada, developed with agency Rethink (Montreal), aims to remind Canadians that after a long hiatus sports facilities are gradually opening and it is finally time to ‘Get Outside’.
The French sporting goods manufacturer and retailer’s first national awareness campaign in the country is part of ongoing expansion plans and it is led by out of home elements – including billboards and bus shelter ads – as well as a digital push, plus pop-ups and aims to attract new customers primarily outside of the Quebec market (where the brand has four stores).
According to Jaylone Lee, Decathlon Canada’s Chief Marketing Officer, the campaign spearheads the company’s second expansion phase as it opens new stores in Ontario.
The executions aim to introduce consumers unfamiliar with the Decathlon brand and its range of sports equipment.
In Ottawa, Decathlon refers to itself as a ‘A New Kind of Store’ in the transport and transit ads that include a list of various sports terminology, while billboard copy set against the retailer’s navy blue reads: “We’re changing the game every time you change the aisles.”
Decathlon is evolving to be more than just a sports retailer by also offering digital experiences to make sport more accessible to more people by offering a variety of classes through its ‘Decathlon Community’ platform (which enable users to find and register for a variety of local activities such as fitness bootcamps, spinning classes and Zumba workouts).
The retailer has also recently launched its Decathlon CoachAapp which tracks walking and running activities.
“We really view the [digital community and coach] ecosystem as ways to connect with customers and the community,” said Lee. “It’s not just customers, it’s sport users, it’s people who want to be active. We want to remove friction points for people who want to remain active.”
Comment:
Admittedly, in recent months we’ve analysed fewer outdoor campaigns than we would like, but now that people are getting outside more and now more sports are restarting (in some countries) we are trying to rectify this.
Plus, it always an interesting tactic for a brand that doesn’t have many/any physical outlets in a country or region to run a physical ad campaign.
Initially this may seem like a fairly unassuming, classic billboard based campaign, but the brand’s mission is notable. Decathlon doesn’t currently have a physical presence right across Canada (While more permanent stores are in the planning pipeline), but does have an e-commerce platform which recently began shipping across the country.
Links:
Decathlon
https://www.instagram.com/decathloncanada/
https://www.facebook.com/decathloncanada/
https://www.youtube.com/c/D%C3%A9cathlonCanada
Rethink Montreal
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.