2023 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Today’s Harry Rosen offers the full range of men’s clothing, but the outdated image of the retailer as the place your dad buys his suits still persists. To overcome that, Harry has embarked on initiatives to establish its style leadership by engaging different niche audiences, one of them being golfers.

Interest in the sport soared during the pandemic. New golf club memberships surged 113% in 2020 and 65% of new golfers were in the 18–34 age group. More than 2.3 million Canadian men have played golf in the past year.

In 2022, Harry Rosen extended its golf offering. Campaign goals
included challenging what people thought they knew about the brand and bringing them into the store or online to purchase.

It couldn’t compete with Golf Town or pro shops on performance but
one-on-one interviews with style-conscious golfers revealed that golf is a social lifestyle as much as it is a sport.

Success in golf is not just about your score. It’s also about quality time with friends and business associates. The social side of the competition starts before the round, continues after the game, and extends to your outfit.

If “winning” in golf is about how you show up as much as it’s about how you play, Harry Rosen could help men win at the game behind the game.

Zulu Alpha Kilo aimed to establish Harry Rosen as the undisputed experts in golf … style. While there’s little Harry can do to improve your handicap, they can make you
look like you know what you’re doing.

To appeal to its audience, it hijacked the television broadcast of golf’s premiere event: The Masters.

Each Harry Rosen spot was designed to look and feel just like the broadcast it was interrupting but the twist was the commentators weren’t talking about the players’ swings. Instead, they were critiquing their golf attire.

The scripts gave golf fans the pleasure of recognition. Double entendres bridged
the worlds of golf and fashion. Not everyone would get the jokes but
our target would delight in them.

To bring live excitement to the campaign, it also tweeted style commentary at the players in real time throughout the tournament. It applauded Tiger Woods’ colour coordination and Viktor Hovland’s pink pants.

It created a 1:30-long mini “broadcast” of the “Harry Rosen Championship,” from which it pulled several :15 pre-rolls that ran on YouTube and in golf-related media.

The campaign extended to point of purchase. Digital display featured Harry Rosen’s golf products, and in-store marketing featured golf-inspired headlines.

It proved it could really speak golfers’ language. The campaign exceeded retail category norms for recall by 62% and more than doubled category norms for favourability (125%). Online sales of polo shirts surged 40% week-over-week after the launch. Harry's lifestyle category grew by a factor of 12.6 times. Within the first two weeks of the campaign, clothing from the campaign had sold out. Golf apparel searched on HarryRosen.com rose 350% compared to the same period a year before.

Credits

Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Chief Creative Officer: Zak Mroueh
Executive Creative Director: Wain Choi
Creative Director / Copywriter: George Ault
Creative Director / Art Director: Jacob Gawrysiak
Account Team: Jessica Hill, Robyn Morrissey, Cosmo Haskard, Chris Rosario
Strategy Directors: Heather Segal, Cameron Fleming
Client: Harry Rosen
Clients: Trinh Tham, Kristin Meier, Tatiana Isaza, Zoë Innanen, Paul Michel, Christine Kwan, Ben Kriz
Production House: Beach Lion
Producer: Laura Nolasco
Creative Director: Mike Nolasco
Post-Production Company: Zulubot
Director: Mike Nolasco, George Ault, Jacob Gawrysiak
Managing Director: Tom Evans
Head of Production: Adam Palmer
Video Editor: Max Lawlor
Post-Production Supervisor: Sarah Dayus
Online Editor & Colourist: Felipe Chaparro
Audio Mix: Dino Cuzzolino, Noah Mroueh
Media Agency: Horizon Media
Media Team: Robyn Van Driel, Michael Mills, Tim Harris, Mark Paterson