As a category, retail may still be posting declines in ad spend following a rough year, but Joe Fresh Style, a low-price trendy line owned by Loblaw has not felt the pinch, says Craig Hutchison, SVP of marketing, apparel, home and entertainment for Loblaw.

Targeting fashionable, thrifty shoppers is a core mandate that has allowed the Joe Fresh brand (which is opening three new stores later this year including the first standalone shop in downtown Vancouver in September and another in Mississauga’s HeartLand Town Centre) to prosper. Hutchison also credits the success to a media strategy that spans all platforms.

‘Because of the mass advertisement we’re doing on TV and billboards, we’ve really been able to grow our franchise pretty dramatically,’ Hutchison tells MiC.

A TV campaign that includes 60- and 30-second spots promoting the brand and a kids’ line launched this week for fall. Ads will also appear in women’s magazines Flare, Fashion and Elle Canada as well as each mag’s online properties, and nationwide OOH with emphasis on the areas where new stores are opening, explains Hutchinston. Creative for Joe Fresh is developed by Bensimon Byrne in Toronto, media planning is developed in-house and buying is handled by ZenithOptimedia in Toronto.

‘Our target has really not changed as we’ve got from season to season,’ Hutchison says of their key demographics, which includes moms shopping for their kids as well as young, working adults.

‘We’re confident in what we’re doing, we’ve been able to see the returns and we’re happy with continuing to invest in media,’ he adds.