In ongoing efforts to reach women in new ways, Dove is branching out beyond the drugstore and taking on the big city. Offering services from manicures to massages to waxing, the Dove Spa in Toronto opens its doors next Wednesday at Yonge and St. Clair. It’s the second one in North America – the first opened in Oakville, Ont. last October.
To promote the spa, it’s being linked to Body & Soul, the highly successful Dove-commissioned play that debuted in Toronto last summer, and is returning for another run from June 4 to 21 this year at the Tarragon Theatre. Dove is sending out an email blast to their database of devoted customers offering them a free facial at the spa when they purchase two tickets to the play.
The play was the only Canadian winner from the first group of awards handed out Sunday at the Festival of Media Awards in Valencia, Spain. PHD Canada’s ‘Finding Body and Soul’ execution, developed with Ogilvy & Mather for Dove Pro-Age, won for Branding Bravery. And the second batch of awards handed out yesterday gave the Unilever brand the Best Targeted Campaign nod for the Dove Sleepover for Self Esteem program orchestrated by PHD, Capital C and Harbinger.
To create even more self esteem experiences, Sharon MacLeod, marketing director for Dove and skin care at Unilever, says that there is a natural connection between the spa and the play because they both celebrate real women. ‘We want [the spa] to be a really engaging experience and one that has them feel great about themselves,’ she says, ‘and we feel that both the spa and the play have women reflect in a positive way.’
