High Road is proud to announce that the campaign they assisted with for the rebranding of Mark’s Work Wearhouse has won one of company’s most prestigious internal awards – the IWO award.
The IWO Awards are Mark’s annual award ceremonies celebrating the company’s core values of Continuous Improvement, Product Integrity and Respect for People. Through a nomination process, hundreds of examples of Mark’s values are submitted and from that list a select group of finalists are chosen whose performances and behaviours most closely represent the company’s values. This year, in the category of Product Integrity the campaign won due to the success they achieved in leading one of the most notable improvements ever at Mark’s – revamping the overall brand and bringing customers a better, fresher shopping experience.
Heavy duty boots, rugged construction gear, plaid flannel…these are no doubt the first things that spring to mind when one thinks of Canadian clothing retailer Mark’s Work Wearhouse. And while having a well-established brand in the Canadian fashion landscape is indeed admirable, it was these pre-ingrained notions that the company sought to get past with the launch of an ambitious rebranding campaign. While still focused on developing the most innovative clothes on the market, Mark’s sought to broaden its appeal beyond its core demographic, putting a renewed emphasis on fashion forward apparel.
Tasked with launching renewed stores in Ottawa, Edmonton and Winnipeg that put a greater emphasis on customer experience, High Road had to convey to the media and public Mark’s fresh new brand; a brand no longer focused on simply providing industrial clients with rugged work clothes, but rather, on providing all Canadians with a wider variety of smart, stylish clothes for everyday living.
Holding three events in three cities simultaneously (a first in High Road history) High Road invited fashion, lifestyle and business journalists for a tour of the newly launched stores where they could view the chain’s fashionable business and casual wear and experience some of the more unique in-store innovations, including custom-made walk-in freezers where customers could see how Mark’s winter clothing stood up to minus 50 C weather and interactive test ramps where customers could test how Mark’s footwear fared on different surfaces, like rooftop shingles or gravel.
Following the tour, journalists were whisked away for their own mini-makeover or what we like to call, a Mark’s Over. With a ‘Before’ photo taken by a professional photographer, the journalists were taken to an area of the store where professional make-up artists and hair stylists could primp while a fashion stylist worked with the journalist to pick out items for their new and improved look. Emerging from the dressing room fully styled in their new Mark’s clothes each journalist had their ‘After’ photo taken to document the transformation.
By giving attendees the opportunity to try on clothes and receive a mini makeover High Road helped to communicate Mark’s rebrand message to an audience that wasn’t overly familiar with Mark’s. With such personalized attention it’s no surprise that the feedback came back overwhelmingly positive.
Post-launch the praise for reMark’s has been equally impressive, not only did the initiative win one of the company’s most prestigious internal awards, but Strategy magazine named Mark’s one of their ‘Brands of the Year’ due to the innovative, out-of-the-box campaign. With such high profile accolades and growing numbers of Canadians beginning to take notice, it’s clear that Mark’s is one of Canada’s most up and coming fashion retailers.
Congratulations, Mark’s!
