Watch the case video
CHALLENGE
ALREADY STRUGGLING SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE BELOVED TORONTO NEIGHBOURHOOD OF RONCESVALLES FACED A SECOND LOCKDOWN AT THE START OF THE CRUCIAL HOLIDAY SEASON.
Small businesses - the lifeblood of our country, and accounting for 97.9% of Canadian businesses1 - have faced horrific financial impacts due to COVID-19, with only 27% reporting normal sales volumes2 and 52% seeing a further drop in sales as a result of the “second wave3.” 54% of small business owners say their "immediate focus is on survival4” and 50% are truly worried that they may have to close permanently due to COVID-195. This devastation is causing 45% to experience psychological health issues and 27% to have physical health issues.6
Within this already grim reality, small businesses in Toronto deemed “non-essential” had a second lockdown imposed beginning Nov. 23 – the start of the crucial 5-week holiday season. With many businesses making up to half of their annual sales during the holidays7, and Canadians already planning to spend nearly 20% less this holiday season8, independent businesses in the Toronto neighbourhood of Roncesvalles were left scrambling to figure out how they will survive. What should have been their busiest time of year instantly became their slowest and, if the businesses can’t recover, they will face financial ruin.
Roncesvalles, affectionately called “Roncy” by residents, is a vibrant and beloved neighbourhood with strong character and identity. The Roncesvalles Business Improvement Area knew something had to be be done. The objective: to drive Torontonians to shop local from the Roncesvalles high street this holiday season.
INSIGHT
WITHOUT YOU BUYING LOCAL THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD WILL BE FOREVER CHANGED.
​
Conceptually, Canadians want to support small business. 95% believe that supporting small business is key to keeping our economy healthy and 82% are worried that their favourite local businesses will close down9. During the pandemic, shopping locally has become even more focal with Google reporting that searches containing “available near me” have more than doubled globally10.
So if Canadians are so strongly on board with the ‘shop local’ movement, why are these "near me" businesses suffering? Experts have noted that actually getting people to prioritize shopping locally over scoring the best deal and the lure of convenience from online giants like Amazon is a very tough sell during the pandemic11. Shorter-term concerns, such as financial uncertainty, labour market conditions, and general nervousness are driving behaviour because people aren’t thinking about longer-term impact, such as the character of their neighbourhood, long-term value of their housing, and the fact that small business owners are often their friends and neighbours. We needed to make Torontonians feel personally responsible for the fate of small businesses.
STRATEGY
A PROVOCATIVE CREATIVE STRATEGY PUT TORONTONIANS IN A DYSTOPIAN, YET POSSIBLE, FUTURE.
Amazon has seen sales increase nearly 40% during the pandemic12 and big box stores are up 6-24%13 , while local businesses suffer. With as many as 225,000 small businesses potentially forced to close in Canada because of the COVID-19 pandemic14, we needed to shock people by forcing them to experience the harsh reality that could befall the Roncesvalles high street. Without their support, small businesses that are the heart and soul of the neighbourhood will dwindle and die. We needed to show them what the future could look like based on their behaviour.
CREATIVE
“RONCESVALLES NOT FOR LEASE” ONE-DAY EXPERIENTIAL
On Nov. 24, the second day of the new Toronto lockdown, Roncy residents woke up to their neighbourhood covered in craft paper, with “For Lease” signs. This arresting display on the high street forced shoppers to viscerally experience the small business reality of the pandemic.
On the outside, the stores appeared to have gone out of business but, as shoppers got closer, a sign on the business’ door expressed the need for support from the local community. The stores remained open for delivery and curbside pick-up while a team handed out cards on the street that explained the event and encouraged people to shop at their local small businesses this holiday.
At noon, in a coordinated event, the store owners ripped off some of the craft paper window coverings to reveal the core campaign message underneath: to resist the lure of Amazon and support independent Roncy retailers this holiday season. We also had federal and provincial members of Parliament attend and speak to the media. Local media, including online publication BlogTO and television and online stations CBC, CTV Toronto, and CityNews Toronto were invited and attended the unveiling.
Instagram, including IG stories, was the primary social media channel used to drive awareness and spark conversations because it provides superior organic reach as a platform.
RESULTS
The reaction from the press was incredible. While a few local media outlets were invited to the 12 pm event, by 1pm we were getting requests by every news agency in the city and the local station CTV turned the story into a National CTV Story because it was such an impactful display of what small businesses across Canada are experiencing. This media impact snowball kept going for 72 hours, with more and more news teams arriving in Roncy to cover the experiential event. The CBC television, online and radio ran national stories on multiple days and our visuals were used as hero images in publications such as the Financial Post’s own story on the state of small business. News media also added our Instagram content to their own feeds.
37
PRESS
OUTLETS
255M
IMPRESSIONS
In total, 37 press outlets ran stories on the experiential event, leading to nearly 255 million impressions and heightened awareness of the just how high the stakes are for small businesses because of COVID-19. While approximately 20% of the media coverage was planned and organized by us, the rest happened organically due to the power of our event’s impact.
800%
IG GROWTH RATE
Engagement on social showed dramatic increases as well. The Roncesvalles BIA’s (RVBIA) Instagram channel had a 900% increase in post engagements and nearly 800% increase in growth rate. Each campaign post generated at least 500% the average historical engagement of the RVBIA Instagram channel, with the strongest post achieving 1600% the engagement.
This is actually terrifying!
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
1 Statistics Canada, November 2019
2 Canadian Federation of Independent Business – Survey #18, July 2020
3 Canadian Federation of Independent Business, COVID-19 Recovery Survey – October 2020, n = 3,901
4 KPMG Business Transition COVID-19 Poll, September 2020
5 Roncesvalles BIA Survey, May 2020
6 Canadian Federation of Independent Business, preliminary results for COVID-19 recovery survey – November 2020, results from November 20 to November 30, 2020, n = 4,577
7 CBC, November 27, 2020
8 Deloitte Canada 2020 Holiday Retail Outlook
9 Canadian Federation of Independent Business, August 12, 2020
10 Think With Google, October 2020
11 CBC News, August 6, 2020
12 Digital Commerce 360
13 Toronto Star, September 8, 2020
14 Canadian Federation of Independent Business, November 2020
PLEASE SUPPORT LOCAL!