Nordstrom Starts Canadian Marketing

Nordstrom Inc. (Seattle) has chosen DDB Canada’s Vancouver office to lead the marketing efforts for its 2014 launch in Calgary.

The retailer will open its first Canadian store in Calgary's Chinook shopping mall in the fall of 2014, followed by stores in Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto and another Calgary location.

“We recognize that we're new to Canada and that we have a lot to learn before we open our first stores,” said Karen McKibbin, president of Nordstrom Canada.

The Toronto Globe & Mail said McKibbin told the Retail Council of Canada that the retailer would launch an advertising campaign this fall, a year before its store opening, to begin developing brand recognition.

The Globe & Mail says the advertising agency relationship is a new move for the retailer, which has not done much advertising in the U.S. – and often produces ads in-house when it does.

The campaign will mimic an online video launched in the spring aimed at younger shoppers and suggesting that “the Nordstrom style is more attainable than you think.”