Gail Fujitsawa/Starcom Worldwide/SVP, Media DirectorTerri Burke/Starcom Worldwide/Assistant Media DirectorMavis Ng/Starcom Worldwide/Media Associate The goal of the campaign was to re-introduce Geoffrey the Giraffe and the new layout of the stores, and to gain interest and drive traffic to the soon-to-be-opening store in Times Square. The secondary goal in this campaign was to spread the buzz across the country. Once people saw and heard of all of the excitement at the Times Square store, it would in turn drive them to their neighborhood stores. The basic idea in this plan was to dominate the incoming-traffic ad space into New York’s Time Square. All efforts of advertising were focused on all in-bound routes for all methods of transportation – expressways, subways and walkways – in order to consistently remind people of the upcoming grand opening.Medium and message worked hand in hand, with traditional and alternative Out-Of-Home methods of advertising featured highly tailored creative communications. High profile in-bound NY/NJ bulletins, NY/NJ Hispanic 8-sheets, taxi tops, bus panels, and bus wraps fill the list of traditional OOH used. In order to achieve advertising domination in Grand Central Station, 3-sheet posters, platform kiosks, underground shelters, and subway tunnels were prominently displayed throughout the station featuring Toys “R” Us’ message. In addition, Geoffrey’s Private News Vans and promo cups drove attention to Toys “R” Us, and its new location in Times Square.

Also, Starcom was able to negotiate and obtain what is usually not for sale in the advertising/PR domain. Specials were done on ABC during the morning news shows and others, featuring the opening of the store. Again, these shows were chosen due to the fact that they target people preparing to leave their homes to start their day at work. This is another instance of reaching the mass of people on their in-bound journey to New York City. Creating a wide-spread awareness of Geoffrey and Toys “R” Us’ Times Square store was the main goal, and through this plan, it was achieved. When Toys “R” Us called on Starcom to help promote the grand opening of the world’s largest toy store in New York City’s Times Square, the media team knew it had to be head and shoulders above the competition in the OOH space.

By virtue of the fact that the toy retailer’s mascot is Geoffrey, a giraffe known the world over, standing out might appear rather simple. But in the fast-paced, competitive marketplace that is New York City, cutting through clutter and getting noticed can be a daunting assignment.But not for Starcom.

The team mapped out a strategy that would reign incoming-traffic ad space into Times Square, including the complete domination of Grand Central Station, creating a virtual breadcrumb trail that led consumers directly to the flagship store. Using traditional and alternative Out-Of-Home methods, Toys “R” Us dominated the “airspace” leading into Times Square and created significant buzz about the grand opening. Results exceeded all expectations—more than 15,000 people visited the new Times Square location in the first hour of “Grand Opening Day.” Toy-R-Us is now seeing returns on average that far exceed the returns of FAO Schwartz—a primary competitor—on its highest day. The store’s opening profits exceeded the forecasts by 40%. The Starcom team made this plan a success, despite many hurdles that were placed in front of them. The September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center created the immediate need to cancel ALL October activity and repurchase the same activity for December. The team also used Starcom’s clout to gain negotiation leverage and chose specific vehicles on which to advertise. The subway space, the traffic space, the special television coverage…these were all methods that were hand-picked by the Starcom team to bring the idea together, and tough negotiations were done in order to get themOverall, the total value of the OOH program was $2MM. After the Starcom team negotiated the best rates it could, the actual cost of the program was $1.4MM – an overall savings of 33%.

When Toys “R” Us called on Starcom to help promote the grand opening of the world’s largest toy store in New York City’s Times Square, the media team knew it had to be head and shoulders above the competition in the OOH space.

By virtue of the fact that the toy retailer’s mascot is Geoffrey, a giraffe known the world over, standing out might appear rather simple. But in the fast-paced, competitive marketplace that is New York City, cutting through clutter and getting noticed can be a daunting assignment.But not for Starcom.

The team mapped out a strategy that would reign incoming-traffic ad space into Times Square, including the complete domination of Grand Central Station, creating a virtual breadcrumb trail that led consumers directly to the flagship store. Using traditional and alternative Out-Of-Home methods, Toys “R” Us dominated the “airspace” leading into Times Square and created significant buzz about the grand opening. Results exceeded all expectations—more than 15,000 people visited the new Times Square location in the first hour of “Grand Opening Day.” Toy-R-Us is now seeing returns on average that far exceed the returns of FAO Schwartz—a primary competitor—on its highest day. The store’s opening profits exceeded the forecasts by 40%.