2021 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

THE CHALLENGE
Small businesses, which account for 97.9% of Canadian businesses, have faced horrific financial impacts due to COVID-19, 50% are truly worried that they may have to close permanently.

The Roncesvalles BIA traditionally handled all marketing activity internally, but with this grim reality, needed support from an agency to think differently and support the main street. The BIA established a new partnership and put the trust of their businesses into developing a campaign that needed to make a statement and impact without the luxury of being able to afford any of the high costs of media. The idea needed to break through on its own.

INSIGHT
Conceptually, Canadians want to support small business. 95% believe that supporting them is key to keeping our economy healthy and 82% are worried that their favourite local businesses will close down.

If Canadians are strongly on board with the “shop local” movement, why are local businesses suffering? Experts have noted that getting people to shop locally over scoring deals and the lure of convenience from online giants is a tough sell. The Local Collective decided to make Torontonians feel personally responsible for the fate of small businesses.

STRATEGY
Amazon has seen sales increase nearly 40% and big box stores are up 6-24%. With as many as 225,000 small businesses potentially forced to close in Canada because of COVID-19, the team needed to shock people by forcing them to experience the harsh reality that could befall Roncesvalles. They needed to show them what the future could look like.

CREATIVE
On Nov. 24, the second day of the new lockdown, “Roncy” residents woke up to the main street store windows covered in craft paper, with “For Lease” signs. Working together, the agency, BIA and small business owners created an arresting display that forced shoppers to viscerally experience the reality of the pandemic.

At noon, in a coordinated event, the store owners ripped off the paper to reveal the core campaign message underneath: to resist the lure of Amazon and support independent retailers. They also had federal and provincial members of Parliament attend and speak to the media.
Instagram, including IG stories, was the primary social media channel used to drive awareness and spark conversations.

RESULTS
The reaction was incredible. While a few media outlets were invited to the 12 pm event, by 1pm every news agency in the city covered the story and turned it into National Story because it was such an impactful display. This media impact kept going for 72 hours, with more news teams arriving to cover the event.

Forty four press outlets ran stories, leading to nearly 255 million impressions and heightened awareness of just how high the stakes are for small businesses. While approximately 20% of the media coverage was organized, the rest happened organically due to the power of our event’s impact.

Credits

Matt Litzinger, President & Chief Creative Officer The Local Collective
Pepe Bratanov, Creative Director The Local Collective
Kaitlin Doherty, Managing Director The Local Collective
Lauren Brown, Solutions and Operations Director, The Local Collective
Michael Ash, Integrated Strategy Director, The Local Collective
Amanda McMillan Brand Director, The Local Collective
Omar Morson, Designer, The Local Collective