LA-based fashion brand Juicy Couture, famous for its chunky buckle handbags and velour tracksuit with ‘Juicy’ sprawled across the derriere, is opening its first store in Canada this week.

But the media plan that will support the opening is about more than just getting the word out about the new Yorkdale Shopping Centre location in Toronto, says Dennis Santos, VP, group media director for PGR Media, the New York-based media agency that handles the brand’s advertising placement in Canada. It’s also a branding push, he says.

‘We also see this as the brand’s entry into Canada from a vertical retail standpoint. We are happy to have that high-circulation coverage in Ontario and Toronto, but we certainly are happy to have the message expanded to other major metro areas in Canada and for fashion enthusiasts in general to know that Juicy has opened a store in Canada,’ Santos tells MiC.

A media mix that includes print, online and OOH is launching this month, with executions in Fashion Magazine, Flare and Toronto Life, and ads on FashionMagazine.com and TorontoLife.com. A partial station domination was also unveiled Tuesday at Yorkdale subway station.

‘We will be using 60 units within the station to really make an impact at the near point-of-purchase level, which we’re really excited about,’ Santos says. Creative for the brand was handled by Buero in New York.