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Promotion You Can Dig

3/7/2015

 
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When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  When winter brings you too much snow, you turn it into a promotional strategy driven by social responsibility.  At least that’s what you do if you’re Canadian Tire.

Canadian Tire’s name is a misnomer.  Yes, the mass marketer sells tires, but its retail product lines are much more expansive, ranging from cleaning supplies, to home furnishings, to electronics, to clothing.  The 90-year-old company claims to know “life in Canada better than anyone else,” as it serves its namesake nation from coast-to-coast through almost 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets.

So, with much of the country covered in snow, Canadian Tire’s marketing agency, Tribal Worldwide, created a promotional campaign that has resonated across Canada: “Shovel-It-Forward.”  Apparently it’s customary among Canadians to shovel a neighbor’s driveway as an act of kindness.  Canadian Tire’s campaign capitalized on this custom by encouraging all compatriots to do the same, as the campaign’s main ad illustrates.

In addition, teams from Canadian Tire did some of their own digging:  They “went to neighborhoods in the seven Canadian cities that were hardest-hit by snow and shoveled a total of 84 driveways, leaving Canadian-Tire-branded shovels on each stoop with stickers that encouraged residents to shovel their neighbors’ driveways, and then pass the shovels on. The stickers on the shovels also prompted people to visit the campaign’s website: ShovelItForward.ca"

Has Canadian Tire’s shoveling strategy been effective marketing?  It’s hard to know without seeing trackable results; however, one can speculate that the campaign has created considerable goodwill for the company, based on social media and other news coverage.  Furthermore, one shouldn’t forget that Canadian Tire sell snow shovels—a relevant and timely promotional tie-in.

The Shovel-It-Forward campaign also certainly supports societal values.  Our world will be a better place if more people  undertake similar small yet significant acts of kindness.  Benevolence breeds benevolence.  In sum, Canadian Tire can be commended for its “Mindful Marketing.”


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Nathan Meppelink
3/28/2015 06:43:48 pm

As a Canadian, I can definitely relate to this post. Although I live in Vancouver where snow can be a rarity, I have definitely noticed that shovelling a neighbour's driveway when it does snow is a customary thing. Canadian Tire is very popular north of the border, so I would expect that this campaign would be very successful. I think the idea behind the campaign is awesome, as it promotes acts of kindness and promotes community. Coming from experience, it was a great feeling looking outside in the morning and seeing your driveway clear of snow. It almost always prompted to you to do it for someone else. Add the "Shovel-it-Forward" shovels and stickers, and I think that this would take off. Thanks for sharing.

Katelyn LeRoy
3/30/2015 09:13:33 am

Like this blog said, I can imagine it would be hard to measure the results of this Shovel-it-Forward campaign by Canadian Tires. However, I believe the measurable results are less important than the actual goodwill the company generated. Many customers probably liked the fact that the company was promoting friendliness and generosity to neighbors. This seems like a truly ethical, mindful marketing strategy that certainly upholds societal values and creates stakeholders value in the company. The social media coverage of this campaign probably also provided great marketing for the company.

Matt Casto
4/1/2015 09:47:08 pm

I am from the Chicagoland area, so each winter we get a decent amount of snow. With this being said, I thought that the concept of the Shovel-It-Foward marketing campaign was really creative and thoughtful since I understand how much effort can go into shoveling large amounts of snow. I also thought that Canadian Tire's idea to do this was both highly ethical and very smart. Through this campaign, it seems like they are spreading acts of kindness through Canada and as a result, they are creating a positive brand image among fellow Canadians. I would be surprised if this campaign doesn't yield decent sales of their products. Other companies should definitely look at this example and strive to do similar acts out of selflessness but an awareness as well to promote their products. It seems to be a fantastic marketing model.


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