Smartset - "for all the living you do in between"

Canadian women's retailer, SMARTSET has just launched a multi-media campaign to reposition their brand to fashion-conscious young women.
Throughout 2011/2012, customers will see a fresher and more stylish SMARTSET positioned as the everyday girls' boutique. SMARTSET partnered with top Canadian creative, strategic and retail talents BOS Advertising, CHEMISTRY Branding, LODA Retail Design and VISION CRITICAL Research, who collectively developed SMARTSET's new positioning, store design and communication.

"Our SMARTSET customer has evolved and like every Canadian woman she is looking to be inspired across all of the elements of her shopping experience and we, as a brand, needed to evolve too in order to meet her specific needs. Our new direction aims to create a shopping experience that offers her both inspiration and value and that reflects her energy and personal style. We've listened to customers across the country and are confident we will surpass her expectations." - Kim Schumpert, President, SMARTSET.

BOS was appointed Agency of Record in December 2010 and assembled a team from their Toronto and Montreal offices to take on the rebranding challenge. The last 9 months have been spent developing the national English/French campaign which includes everything from a logo refresh, garment and accessory labels, bags and in-store POS to TV, print and online.

SMARTSET's in-house Creative Department will be working collaboratively with BOS' graphic design team to roll out this fresh new look over the coming few months. However, TV, Print and online launches will lead the way.

The platform for this campaign comes from recognizing the lifestyle realities that Canadian women in their late 20s are dealing with – careers, meeting the right guy, moving out on their own, getting engaged or married – and reminding them that it isn't just the big occasions that matter. It's all those smaller moments that happen along the way that are worth celebrating. The pay-off line for all communications sums it up: "For all the living you do in-between." The creative itself finds humour in these "in-between" moments and takes a lifestyle approach seldom seen in the fashion category.

"If you look at most retail fashion advertising, so much of it looks the same that you could simply switch logos around. We decided that to truly connect with our target, we needed something more emotional. This campaign breaks the rules of the category in that respect." - Gary Watson, Creative Director, BOS.

Throughout their journey to discover what a young, modern Canadian woman desires from a retailer today, the brand has kept their longstanding commitment to merchandise that is trend conscious and delivers style at great value. SMARTSET's merchandise will see a revitalization that combines a touch of glamour with dose of real life. The brand will also see an significant expansion in their accessories division, aiming to provide an overall selection that reflects their customer's real life needs – style, variety, value, quality and versatility.

With 158 stores nationwide, SMARTSET is poised to celebrate the lives of everyday young Canadian women with style.

Smart Set is a Canadian retail brand offering real, fresh and fun merchandise for young Canadian women. Smart Set's lifestyle collections are characterized by affordable fashion and accessories offered at the best value possible. Smart Set's offering includes apparel, handbags, jewelry and other accessories. Smart Set, a division of Montreal based Reitmans (Canada) Limited (TSX: RET, RET-A) can be found at 158 retail locations across Canada and at www.smartset.ca.

Client: SMARTSET
Marketing Director: Carmie Foglia

Agency: Bos
Creative Director: Gary Watson
Art Director: Jennifer Saunders
Writer: Joanna Barrs
Designer: Jeffrey Rosenberg
Account Supervisor: Maddie Gauthier
Account Director: Sebastien Moise

Production Company: Holiday Films
Director: Lena Beug
Executive Producer: Josefina Nadurata
Producer: Amalie Bruun
Director of Photography: Tico Poulakakis

Editorial: Bijou Edit
Editor: Ross Birchall

Music: Vapor
Song: “Twisted” by The 5 O’Clock Thursdays

Print
Photographer: Cheyenne Ellis