2022 Winner
SilverBest in Retail
BronzeBest in Video
Harry Rosen
"Hijacking the Masters"
Zulu Alpha Kilo & Horizon Media
"Hijacking the Masters"
Zulu Alpha Kilo & Horizon Media
Today’s Harry Rosen offers the full range of men’s clothing – not only classically tailored suits, but also casual clothes, footwear, and even streetwear. But the outdated image of the retailer as the place your dad buys his suits still persists.
To overcome that, Harry has embarked on a series of initiatives to establish its style leadership by engaging different niche audiences.
One of those audiences: golfers.
If you think of golf as the game your dad plays on Sundays, well, that’s out of date, too. Interest in the sport soared during the pandemic. New golf club memberships surged 113% in 2020, according to ClubLink, and 65% of new golfers were in the 18–34 age group, according to Golf Canada. More than 2.3 million Canadian men have played golf in the past year.
Trendwatchers noted the rise of “golfcore” – golf-inspired fashion that was popping up both
on and off the links.
It knew it couldn’t compete with Golf Town or pro shops on performance. But their one-on-one interviews with style-conscious golfers revealed that golf is a social activity and a lifestyle
as much as it is a sport.
So it aimed to establish Harry Rosen as the undisputed experts in golf … style. While there may be little Harry can do to improve your golf handicap, it can certainly make you look like you know
what you’re doing.
The Masters, which aired on TSN & CTV this year, became the pinnacle of their campaign focus as it is the pinnacle of Golf Events.
The Masters delivers two to four times the ratings of other golf events, kicks off the golfing season (and the spring apparel season), and delivers golfers (at an index of 160 compared to Canadian men). It even delivers the 18–34-year-old golfer (to the tune of 134 vs. the population), delivers those with higher income (Index 136 $125–$150; 123 $150–$200; 146 $200+), and is one of the finest examples of engaged viewing as 99% of viewers watch live (vs. 83% to average conventional TV viewing).
With the Masters selected as the ideal environment to make a Harry Rosen golf fashion statement, it then determined how to make the biggest impact without sponsorship funds. It aired multiple spots in all four live rounds, and repeat airings. It then expanded its reach of male golf enthusiasts via advanced TV targeting.
The scripts were written to give golf fans the inside feeling of the game. Double entendres (such as talking about one player’s improving “shirt game”) bridged the worlds of golf and fashion and spoke to the target in their language.
When the Masters concluded, it created a 1:30-long mini “broadcast” of the “Harry Rosen Championship,” from which it pulled several :15 pre-rolls that ran on YouTube and in golf related media. The campaign extended into golf verticals and point of purchase.
Each Harry Rosen spot was designed to look and feel just like the broadcast it was airing in – the same camera angles, the same graphics, the same sotto voice golf commentators. It even selected an announcer whose voice is reminiscent of the Masters golf announcer icon Jim Nantz.
The twist: The commentators weren’t talking about the players’ swings. Instead, they were critiquing their golf attire. The viewer couldn’t tell they’d left the Masters content until after their commercials resonated. Given the significance of appearing to still be in the Masters content, they ensured their :15 second commercials were top and bottom of the cluster.
To bring live excitement to the campaign during broadcast coverage, it also tweeted style commentary at the players in real time throughout the tournament. It applauded Tiger Woods’ colour coordination and Viktor Hovland’s pink pants – @HovlandViktor ‘Pink pants are a high-risk, high-reward play.’
In one well-timed and beautiful stroke, the campaign lofted Harry Rosen’s expanded golf offering right onto the green. It proved they could really speak golfers’ language.
The campaign exceeded retail category norms for recall by 62%, and more than doubled category norms for favourability (125%). Online sales of polo shirts surged 40% week-over-week after the launch. The lifestyle category grew by a factor of 12.6 times for Harry Rosen, and within the first two weeks of airing, clothing from the campaign had sold out (bad news if you liked that shirt with the palm trees on it). Plus, searches for golf apparel on HarryRosen.com rose 350% compared to the same period
a year before.
To overcome that, Harry has embarked on a series of initiatives to establish its style leadership by engaging different niche audiences.
One of those audiences: golfers.
If you think of golf as the game your dad plays on Sundays, well, that’s out of date, too. Interest in the sport soared during the pandemic. New golf club memberships surged 113% in 2020, according to ClubLink, and 65% of new golfers were in the 18–34 age group, according to Golf Canada. More than 2.3 million Canadian men have played golf in the past year.
Trendwatchers noted the rise of “golfcore” – golf-inspired fashion that was popping up both
on and off the links.
It knew it couldn’t compete with Golf Town or pro shops on performance. But their one-on-one interviews with style-conscious golfers revealed that golf is a social activity and a lifestyle
as much as it is a sport.
So it aimed to establish Harry Rosen as the undisputed experts in golf … style. While there may be little Harry can do to improve your golf handicap, it can certainly make you look like you know
what you’re doing.
The Masters, which aired on TSN & CTV this year, became the pinnacle of their campaign focus as it is the pinnacle of Golf Events.
The Masters delivers two to four times the ratings of other golf events, kicks off the golfing season (and the spring apparel season), and delivers golfers (at an index of 160 compared to Canadian men). It even delivers the 18–34-year-old golfer (to the tune of 134 vs. the population), delivers those with higher income (Index 136 $125–$150; 123 $150–$200; 146 $200+), and is one of the finest examples of engaged viewing as 99% of viewers watch live (vs. 83% to average conventional TV viewing).
With the Masters selected as the ideal environment to make a Harry Rosen golf fashion statement, it then determined how to make the biggest impact without sponsorship funds. It aired multiple spots in all four live rounds, and repeat airings. It then expanded its reach of male golf enthusiasts via advanced TV targeting.
The scripts were written to give golf fans the inside feeling of the game. Double entendres (such as talking about one player’s improving “shirt game”) bridged the worlds of golf and fashion and spoke to the target in their language.
When the Masters concluded, it created a 1:30-long mini “broadcast” of the “Harry Rosen Championship,” from which it pulled several :15 pre-rolls that ran on YouTube and in golf related media. The campaign extended into golf verticals and point of purchase.
Each Harry Rosen spot was designed to look and feel just like the broadcast it was airing in – the same camera angles, the same graphics, the same sotto voice golf commentators. It even selected an announcer whose voice is reminiscent of the Masters golf announcer icon Jim Nantz.
The twist: The commentators weren’t talking about the players’ swings. Instead, they were critiquing their golf attire. The viewer couldn’t tell they’d left the Masters content until after their commercials resonated. Given the significance of appearing to still be in the Masters content, they ensured their :15 second commercials were top and bottom of the cluster.
To bring live excitement to the campaign during broadcast coverage, it also tweeted style commentary at the players in real time throughout the tournament. It applauded Tiger Woods’ colour coordination and Viktor Hovland’s pink pants – @HovlandViktor ‘Pink pants are a high-risk, high-reward play.’
In one well-timed and beautiful stroke, the campaign lofted Harry Rosen’s expanded golf offering right onto the green. It proved they could really speak golfers’ language.
The campaign exceeded retail category norms for recall by 62%, and more than doubled category norms for favourability (125%). Online sales of polo shirts surged 40% week-over-week after the launch. The lifestyle category grew by a factor of 12.6 times for Harry Rosen, and within the first two weeks of airing, clothing from the campaign had sold out (bad news if you liked that shirt with the palm trees on it). Plus, searches for golf apparel on HarryRosen.com rose 350% compared to the same period
a year before.
Credits
Agency: Zulu Alpha KiloChief Creative Officer: Zak Mroueh
Executive Creative Director: Wain Choi
Creative Director / Copywriter: George Ault
Creative Director / Art Director: Jacob Gawrysiak
Account Team: Jessica Hill, Robyn Morrissey, Cosmo Haskard, Chris Rosario
Executive Strategy Director: Heather Segal
Strategy Director: Cameron Fleming
Client: Harry Rosen
Clients: Trinh Tham, Kristin Meier, Tatiana Isaza, Zoë Innanen, Paul Michel, Christine Kwan, Ben Kriz
Media Agency: Horizon Media
Media Team: Robyn Van Driel, Michael Mills, Tim Harris, Mark Paterson
Production House: Beach Lion
Producer: Laura Nolasco
Creative Director: Mike Nolasco
Post-Production Company: Zulubot
Director: Mike Nolasco, George Ault, Jacob Gawrysiak
Managing Director: Tom Evans
Head of Production: Adam Palmer
Video Editor: Max Lawlor
Post-Production Supervisor: Sarah Dayus
Online Editor & Colourist: Felipe Chaparro
Audio Mix: Dino Cuzzolino, Noah Mroueh