JC Penney’s Stealth Launch for New Tag Line

This week, people passing through New York’s Times Square or shopping at Simon and Brookfield malls across the country encountered larger-than-life electronic billboards bearing images of an anonymous retailer’s fashion offer. The boards included photos of models wearing the latest looks, but no tags, labels or branding – just a QR tag that led shoppers to a website revealing JCPenney (Plano, Texas) as the source of the clothing pictured.

All this is part of the department store chain’s efforts to energize its brand under the auspices of Catalyst Brands, a new entity formed by the merger of Sparc Group and JCPenney earlier this year. The specific initiative being touted through the billboards is the adoption of a new tagline: “Yes—JCPenney!” The retailer outlined the strategy behind that move in a breezily written news release bearing the tongue-in-cheek headline, “An Open Letter Apologizing to JCPenney Fans For What We’re About To Do.”

In that release, the retailer said its goal is “shifting our image as a coupon destination to a must-shop fashion brand.”

“It’s true,” the release reads in part. “Eighty-three percent of people surveyed admitted they were surprised to see such on-trend outfits from JCPenney when we showed them the hottest looks for spring. And right now, it feels like we should be letting a lot of people know what you know, you know? It’s a weird time. Budgets are tight. Everyone’s compromising everywhere. We all need more for less. You agree, right? That’s why we can no longer keep it a secret. It just wouldn’t be fair.”

The campaign will also include weekly in-show fashion reveals on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”