Many retailers close up shop for Canada Day: Anyone who has left it too late to stock up on festive essentials for July 1 knows this. In Quebec, the cultural phenomenon known as Moving Day creates another challenge entirely, one for which Canadian Tire has provided a solution – at least for movers in Montreal.
The retailer opened up Station CT, exclusively on July 1, to provide free last-minute assistance to those relocating on the a day a massive portion of residential leases traditionally expire in Quebec. Rolled out in collaboration with Publicis Montréal and integrated into a wild-posting hoarding in the city’s Mile End neighbourhood, the vending machine pop-up was pre-stocked with a range of DIY items like measuring tape, lightbulbs, batteries and box cutters.
Images courtesy of Canadian Tire
“Our role is to help Canadians tackle the jobs they need to get done – and moving is one of the most stressful ones that people take on,” Canadian Tire’s associate VP of marketing, Natalya Lukie, said in a release. “On a day when stakes are high, we wanted to provide Quebecers with a little practical support.”
To support the initiative, Canadian Tire deployed a series of geotargeted social-media posts designed to reach Quebecers, along with street-level posters an signage pointing to the Station CT location.
“We wanted to transform an advertising medium into a real source of help,” said Jean-François Dumais, CCO at Publicis Montréal. “Rather than simply delivering a message, we set out to create a campaign that could provide a genuine service to Quebecers.”
Station CT was open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 1 at the corner of St-Viateur and Clark.
