When you’re a low-cost retail chain selling designer products at a discount, you need to pull out all the stops to appear cool and fashionable.

That’s why TJX Canada, which runs the Winners and Marshalls budget chains and the HomeSense home decor stores in Canada, tapped indie producer Pivotal Media to create the first episode of STYLE+TV, an online branded program available for viewing exclusively by its discount card members.

The program, hosted by HomeSense style expert Tamara Griffith Roberts and guest starring design TV hosts Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, debuted on March 18 at 7 p.m. on TJX Canada’s loyalty program website, www.tjxstyleplus.ca.

The half-hour episode offers a sneak peek at HomeSense’s spring/summer 2014 home and garden lineup.

The program is also the latest branded entertainment content from Toronto-based Pivotal Media, which is run by executive producers Andrea Gabourie and Simon Watts.

“The show is essentially a half-hour lifestyle show run only online for the loyalty members,” says Gabourie. “It was intended as exclusive content as a reward for shoppers who are members of STYLE+.”

The company is also in development on a web-based reality series with an unnamed international photography company.

Gabourie and Watts were Corus Entertainment execs before launching the production shingle in 2012.

From Playback Daily with files from Val Maloney.

Image from Shutterstock.