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August 2007 - Strategy Magazine
Upfront

Brilliant: Montreal gets Lucky (jeans)

by Annette Bourdeau
page 9

In the spirit of John and Yoko, Lucky Brand Jeans held a bed-in for the opening of its Montreal store on St. Catherine St. A French street team aimed to capture the brand's rock 'n' roll spirit and make it relevant to francophones.

"Being an American brand, we wanted to have people in Quebec communicate this message in French," says Cintia Hudon, marketing manager at Montreal-based Liz Claiborne Canada, which owns the Lucky brand. She adds that having people waiting outside for the store to open is reminiscent of fans lining up for tickets to a concert. "Lucky Brand Jeans is very rooted in rock 'n' roll and the '70s era."

The premium denim brand's target is 30-55, and this effort aimed to get attention from urban professionals on their way to work. The street team camped out in front of the store from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. the Wednesday before the opening, and then returned at 7:30 a.m. on opening day.

The ploy seems to have worked: Close to 2,000 people went through the store on opening day. To add context, the Toronto Eaton Centre location's average traffic on a Thursday is 450 people. The opening was also supported by print ads in Metro, bus shelters and posters.

There are now five Lucky Brand stores in Canada, with two more locations set to open in Montreal and Toronto in August and October, respectively.

Carte Blanche handled creative, 2B Interactive did the media while GA & Associates covered PR. All are of Montreal.

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