In short
Niagara Pen Centre celebrated their 65th anniversary in 2024. They wanted our help making this important milestone matter to their community—and to give their brand a refresh headed into the anniversary year. They felt their logo was getting a little tired and didn’t reflect the exciting time of renewal at the Centre, with new anchor stores reimagining the shopping centre’s footprint and their constantly-improving commitment to their community.
Methodology
Niagara Pen Centre is no ordinary mall, but not everyone knew that. To stand out among all the other competition in the market, including a newly-minted outdoor outlet mall, they needed to differentiate themselves for what they offer: a deeper connection than a buyer-seller relationship.
Challenges
Both hyperlocal audiences (mainly homeowners within a 15km radius of the Centre) and Niagara tourists had to be considered—meaning we had to meet two very different needs: to celebrate people who are super familiar with and connected to the Centre, and to invite people to get acquainted with the Centre, giving them a reason to stop in on their stay. That was a delicate balance—wanting to accurately reflect their community commitment alongside the need to help the Centre stand out to new audiences in Niagara. We couldn’t let the community-centredness override their goals of opening their doors to more tourists.
Execution
While developing the brand platform and refreshed visual identity, we landed on a classic mark that honoured the past, while modernizing it, giving it staying power. We decided to rename the Centre from The Pen Centre to Niagara Pen Centre, getting it closer to its former namesake, Niagara Peninsula Centre, and maximizing both the community-centredness as well as the mass appeal of the Niagara region.
This pointed us in the right direction for the final tagline, “Destination Inspired,” which helped us bring in Niagara’s reputation as a tourist destination—signalling the inspiration folks can find at the Centre, and highlighting it as a worthy destination on your trip, as well as the fact that the mall is inspired by its surrounding environment and community.
For the 65th anniversary celebrations, we created a live, branded experience at the mall, because there was no better way to generate engagement with the anniversary than to recognize the moments and milestones the Centre had been a part of in their community.
We had folks “Pen Their Memories” on a large, walk-through installation, engage with a selfie wall, and read up about the key moments in Niagara Pen Centre’s history on a timeline rich with historical photos. There was even a section devoted to revealing the story behind the rebrand, helping them share their renewed commitment to their community and their new look.
The activation allowed us to capture stories from generations who’ve been visiting the mall since its start—proving how much of a community fixture the mall has been.
The anniversary culminated in an event hosted at Niagara Pen Centre, where the activation was shared alongside three anniversary videos we produced to highlight the mall’s history and growth, and their community impact.
Outcome
The memory board gained a lot of attention, earned media coverage, and created new memories and a new experience at the mall. It also drove excitement for the final 65th anniversary event.
They ended up getting over 4,000 memory submissions, sharing countless warm-fuzzy stories with their community, inspiring a whole new era for the mall, and reinforcing its community-centred image.
We led an influencer campaign with three local influencers––Courtney Todd, Dayana Zuluaga and Kristen Merritt––who posted reels sharing their Pen Centre memories and what the mall means to them. The reels received a combined 26,000 views.
The one-of-a-kind stories captured from the memory board made sure everyone in the Centre, especially those working there, felt proud of their impact in the community.
Credits
Creative Director — Brenlee Coates
Senior Graphic Designer/Art Director — Sarah Elliott
Copywriter — Sydney Small
Marketing Manager — Emily Lennon
Marketing Coordinator — Stacha Penner
Video Editor — Nic Herzog
Influencer Management — Natasha Macdonald-Sawh
Director of Photography — Norm Reynolds (North Brothers)
Assistant Camera — Nick Spartan
Hair + Makeup — Marika Macintosh
