• Client: The Gazette / 1

Objectives and business

In business for over 2 centuries, it was time for The Gazette to update its image to counter its drop in readership. The Montreal daily’s decline in sales was largely due to the growing number of information platforms and a lack of time on the consumers’ side to sit down and read. The newspaper had to reinvent itself without changing completely to attract more advertisers and draw more attention from Montreal Anglophones.

Concepts developed

Research on the changing industry of dailies showed a distinct migration of readers to the Internet and free newspapers. These realizations led us to recommend that The Gazette use its status as a large institution to boost the value of its content. The newspaper editors increased the quality of the content by printing five special editions per season. For the brand direction, we developed the signature “Words matter” to show how important words are, particularly those published in The Gazette.

The English daily consequently proved how the right words count when you describe events and from then on symbolized reliable information with its black and white frame. Steering clear of drama, the creative platform “Words matter” focuses on simplicity, ingenuity and emotion, letting words tell the story.

Solutions proposed

The Gazette launched its new signature “Words matter” for Montreal Anglophones on August 18, 2006. By only printing lines and images on the front page, the daily wanted to prove the value of its journalists’ words. The promotional campaign for the Montreal daily continued on the back of the front page, with the signature “Words matter”. The real front page, complete with articles, appeared on page three.

After the launch and all its media coverage, the concept “Words matter” was adapted for almost all existing print, multimedia and electronic formats. The infinitesimal number of possibilities meant we could execute as many versions of the concept as we wanted, using different approaches for different targets (young, older, trendy, conservative…), to ensure we reached all readers.

In parallel, field activities were organized for in-depth features. For example, a promotional squad of “sleepers” walked around the metro, streets and malls in their pyjamas for a feature on sleeplessness, wherein the actors played the part of walking billboards. Another promotion displayed small billboards in blocks of ice which melted on street corners downtown for a feature on global warming.

Results

All of these simultaneous happenings made for a huge increase in sales of The Gazette, not just of special editions, which resulted in a global improvement in sales that peaked on Saturdays. Beyond the quantitative, the empathy created by the campaign made it possible to attract a new clientele and generate loyalty among existing readers.

The new corporate identity’s success spread across the country like wildfire. Right from the day of the launch, kicked off with the daily’s wordless front page, the readers’ reaction was unanimous. The Gazette is liked and respected more than ever. From Vancouver to Halifax, the media, including the competition, is applauding the campaign. “Words matter” won the Prix du Public TV5, Quebec advertising experts declared it the best campaign of the year in the 2007 Créa Awards, and the Toronto Marketing Awards gave it no less than Gold.

As well as the extraordinary success of the new positioning for the public, employees are prouder than ever to work for The Gazette. New applications received by human resources confirm that the daily has become an attractive, exemplary and desirable place to work.

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