2022 Winner
SilverBest in Branded Content
Holt Renfrew
"Lin's Lucky Red Envelope"
Havas Media
"Lin's Lucky Red Envelope"
Havas Media
The COVID-19 pandemic saw an unprecedented rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, and as an iconic Canadian company, Holt Renfrew wanted to be part of the solution. Lunar New Year offered a unique opportunity to lead by example in promoting acceptance and celebration of
Asian communities and traditions.
An authentic and empathetic approach was key to differentiating from other brands activating during Lunar New Year. A limited marketing budget during this large consumer holiday meant that a traditional go-to-market approach would be ineffective in driving awareness and creating positive cultural change.
Education is a powerful tool to fight discrimination and promote acceptance, particularly in children who have a fundamental role in building a more tolerant future for new generations of Canadians. So, Holt Renfrew created a children’s book to educate the next generation about Lunar New Year, titled Lin’s Lucky Red Envelope, with all proceeds supporting Project 1907, a Vancouver-based organization founded by Asian women that tracks incidents of racism and supports victims.
The book was brought to life through the collaboration of a Chinese-Canadian author and illustrator duo. Sennah Yee (author) and Elaine Chen (illustrator) took inspiration from their own experiences both in Canada and China to create the narrative.
The story follows Lin, a young Chinese-Canadian celebrating her first Lunar New Year in Vancouver. The partnership with these artists produced an authentic story that was language-inclusive to facilitate cross-generational and cross-language learning moments. The book was available in English/Mandarin and French/Mandarin, including translations for key holiday greetings and phrases.
Given its minimal budget, it was important to leverage the combined power of earned, owned, paid and shared media to support the book sales and find ways to multiply the impact of the $15,000 spend.
The channel plan focused on where it could best reach audiences who would resonate with this community-focused message and drive conversation to organically amplify the campaign. Social media through Facebook and Instagram were chosen to offer the right context for shareability and extend reach to the broader luxury shopper market, optimized to sales tracking of parents and/or those interested in Lunar New Year.
An afternoon tea pop-up extended the celebration at Holt’s prime Bloor Street location. Lunar New Year decor and inspired menu items were served to patrons to honor tradition and culture. Beyond paid media, this event was promoted on Holt’s media assets and via a sponsorship with BlogTO featuring key Toronto events. Earned media was broadly sought on the initiative and received from the likes of CBC, The Kit, and Chatelaine.
The creation of Lin’s Lucky Red Envelope was an innovative use of storytelling that further established Holt Renfrew’s identity as a culturally relevant brand with a unique point of view.
First to market product extensions were also created, including Lao Hu, a stuffed tiger doll. In partnership with Hazel Village, this collaboration provided talented Nepalese artisans from underserved communities thousands of hours of meaningful work.
With sustainability a core pillar, all books were produced using 100% sustainably recycled wood fiber, and Lao Hu was Artisan-made using 100% organic cotton to meet Holt Renfrew’s strict sustainable material and artisanal criteria.
Countless messages from key community members such as parents, principals, teachers and librarians were received, praising the book and Holt Renfrew’s role, and adopting it as a teaching tool. Teachers thought it was a great resource because the book was written in both Chinese and English and many cross-language lessons and activities came out of it.
The Lunar New Year site saw double the pageviews and triple the revenue compared to the same holiday period in 2021. Over 1 in 3 visitors driven to the landing page through paid media converted to sale – a highly efficient cost per sale performance over five times greater than projected benchmarks. The campaign received coverage in major media outlets like Chatelaine and the CBC.
In addition to shining a light on the Chinese and broader Asian community and culture, Holt’s sold over 1,200 copies of the book, resulting in a $26,000 donation to Project 1907 and further solidifying its positioning as a brand that authentically supports diversity, equity and inclusion in a meaningful way.
Asian communities and traditions.
An authentic and empathetic approach was key to differentiating from other brands activating during Lunar New Year. A limited marketing budget during this large consumer holiday meant that a traditional go-to-market approach would be ineffective in driving awareness and creating positive cultural change.
Education is a powerful tool to fight discrimination and promote acceptance, particularly in children who have a fundamental role in building a more tolerant future for new generations of Canadians. So, Holt Renfrew created a children’s book to educate the next generation about Lunar New Year, titled Lin’s Lucky Red Envelope, with all proceeds supporting Project 1907, a Vancouver-based organization founded by Asian women that tracks incidents of racism and supports victims.
The book was brought to life through the collaboration of a Chinese-Canadian author and illustrator duo. Sennah Yee (author) and Elaine Chen (illustrator) took inspiration from their own experiences both in Canada and China to create the narrative.
The story follows Lin, a young Chinese-Canadian celebrating her first Lunar New Year in Vancouver. The partnership with these artists produced an authentic story that was language-inclusive to facilitate cross-generational and cross-language learning moments. The book was available in English/Mandarin and French/Mandarin, including translations for key holiday greetings and phrases.
Given its minimal budget, it was important to leverage the combined power of earned, owned, paid and shared media to support the book sales and find ways to multiply the impact of the $15,000 spend.
The channel plan focused on where it could best reach audiences who would resonate with this community-focused message and drive conversation to organically amplify the campaign. Social media through Facebook and Instagram were chosen to offer the right context for shareability and extend reach to the broader luxury shopper market, optimized to sales tracking of parents and/or those interested in Lunar New Year.
An afternoon tea pop-up extended the celebration at Holt’s prime Bloor Street location. Lunar New Year decor and inspired menu items were served to patrons to honor tradition and culture. Beyond paid media, this event was promoted on Holt’s media assets and via a sponsorship with BlogTO featuring key Toronto events. Earned media was broadly sought on the initiative and received from the likes of CBC, The Kit, and Chatelaine.
The creation of Lin’s Lucky Red Envelope was an innovative use of storytelling that further established Holt Renfrew’s identity as a culturally relevant brand with a unique point of view.
First to market product extensions were also created, including Lao Hu, a stuffed tiger doll. In partnership with Hazel Village, this collaboration provided talented Nepalese artisans from underserved communities thousands of hours of meaningful work.
With sustainability a core pillar, all books were produced using 100% sustainably recycled wood fiber, and Lao Hu was Artisan-made using 100% organic cotton to meet Holt Renfrew’s strict sustainable material and artisanal criteria.
Countless messages from key community members such as parents, principals, teachers and librarians were received, praising the book and Holt Renfrew’s role, and adopting it as a teaching tool. Teachers thought it was a great resource because the book was written in both Chinese and English and many cross-language lessons and activities came out of it.
The Lunar New Year site saw double the pageviews and triple the revenue compared to the same holiday period in 2021. Over 1 in 3 visitors driven to the landing page through paid media converted to sale – a highly efficient cost per sale performance over five times greater than projected benchmarks. The campaign received coverage in major media outlets like Chatelaine and the CBC.
In addition to shining a light on the Chinese and broader Asian community and culture, Holt’s sold over 1,200 copies of the book, resulting in a $26,000 donation to Project 1907 and further solidifying its positioning as a brand that authentically supports diversity, equity and inclusion in a meaningful way.
Credits
Media Agency: Havas Media CanadaAssociate Director, Mx Development: Katerina Vavougios
Associate Director, Paid Social: Rose Chen
Director, Analytics: Tim Harshman
Media Coordinator: Mark McKenzie, Sarah Galley
Client: Holt Renfrew
SVP Marketing: Wes Wolch
DVP Marketing: Nicole Plener
DVP Creative: Kym De La Roche
Campaign Lead: Andrew Cresswell & Emma Wang
PR & Events: Jennifer Daubney & Erin Koth
Paid Media: Howard Shaw & Sarah Werbowecki
Editorial/Site: Lisa Pallotta & Anne Robinson
Email: Marco Leal
Social Media: Hannah Robertson & Marie-Claude Vallieres
Fashion Direction: Joseph Tang & Bronwyn Marshall
Holts Café Manager: Steven Smith
Creative, Project Manager: Joni Piansay
Creative, Coordinator: Oriana Doan
Writer: Sennah Yee
Illustrator: Elaine Chen
Copywriter: Matthew Biehl
Graphic Designer: Isabella Jusková
Translators: Valerie Aquin, Julie Gravel, Elise Gagnon
Visual Merchandising
Divisional Vice President, Store Design, Construction, Facilities and Visual Merchandising: Allan Tse
Director, National Visual Merchandising: Melissa Hong
Manager, Creative Design: Madeleine Prendergast
Designer: Ryan McGregor
Manager, National Visual Merchandising: Claudia Song
Coordinator, National Visual Merchandising: Matthew Hawley,
Coordinator, National Visual Merchandising: Anya Zakharchuk
Campaign Video
Director: Michael Seater
Producer: Adrienne McDonnell
Art Director: Casie Billington
Director of Photography (DOP): Ken Ng
Photographer: Blaise Misiek
Production Designer: Caitlin Doherty
All Styling & Glam by: The Plutino Group
Video Editor: Andrew Gilbride
Photography Retouching: Greg Curran
Video Post Production by: Rolling Pictures