Zellers Relaunches In Canada - Again:
Opportunity
Zellers returns to Canada. After years of speculation and nostalgia surrounding the beloved Canadian retailer, Zellers was preparing for a highly anticipated return. The brand’s new ownership and leadership team had quietly been developing Zellers 3.0, a modernized concept offering a reimagined experience for today’s shopper. NKPR was engaged to lead the public reintroduction of the brand, ensuring the first announcement captured national attention while clearly communicating the new business vision.
What We Did
- Timed with the first retail open in Edmonton, we developed a robust PR strategy that would set the foundation for all future openings across the country.
- Crafted clear and unified key messaging for Zellers 3.0 that balanced nostalgia with innovation, focusing on Zellers’ heritage, its modern small-format concept, and its renewed commitment to Canadian families.
- Developed a national press release, articulating the business strategy, store rollout plans, and the emotional return of the beloved Zeddy bear.
- Executed on comprehensive media training, developing a robust Media Q&A document to anticipate every possible reporter question and prepare the spokesperson with approved messaging and tone.
Results
- To maximize impact, we secured with The Canadian Press (CP), one of Canada’s most trusted and widely syndicated national outlets, to drive credibility and reach across all major news networks and local markets.
- Executed on comprehensive media training, developing a robust Media Q&A document to anticipate every possible reporter question and prepare the spokesperson with approved messaging and tone.
- Coordinated the exclusive rollout by coordinating that the CP story run advance of the embargo lift, ensuring the it broke nationally just as the official press release went live on the wire.
- NKPR secured over 70 million media impressions timed with the store opening,