Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 9

ASSOCIATION UPDATE

EXPANDED OFFERING
Merger between retail associations offers RCC
members greater marketing expertise
BY ROBERT PRICE
RETAIL Council of Canada (RCC) and Retail Advertising and Marketing Canada (RAC) have agreed
to merge, a move that cements a long-standing association between the two retail advocacy groups.
The decision was announced late last year and
was driven by RAC's need to grow beyond its volunteer-based organizational model. RAC and RCC
have been affiliated since 2006. Lisa Tompkins,
director of marketing at CN Tower, and the RAC
board chair, says the decision gives RAC members
access to the organizational stability it needs.
"One of our goals in merging was to accelerate
RAC's vision. By merging, RAC gained immediate
and ongoing access to services and benefits that Members of RAC with RCC president and CEO Diane J. Brisebois.
RCC offers," she says. RAC members will become
members of RCC, and RAC's leaders will partici- "RCC members have gained a huge brain trust of
pate in an advisory council.
retail marketing expertise, which complements
For RCC, the merger is a way to enhance the efand enhances what we do for retail marketers. RAC
forts it makes each year to educate, and advocate
for, retail marketers. "Merging RAC with RCC members gain all the benefits of the nationwide,
brings together the best of both organizations," intensely focused organization that is RCC."
says Michael LeBlanc, RCC's senior vice-president,
- MICHAEL LEBLANC, Retail Council of Canada
marketing and digital retail. "RCC members have
gained a huge brain trust of retail marketing expertise, which tive, says LeBlanc, because retail marketing is
complements and enhances what we do for retail marketers. a quickly evolving field that retailers say they
RAC members gain all the benefits of the nationwide, intensely need to understand better. "With new technolofocused organization that is RCC."
gies and new approaches to connecting with
audiences, retail marketing is always shifting,"
Careful decision-making
he says. He points to flyers as one example of
According to Tompkins, RAC considered the decision to how effective marketing requires retailers to stay
merge with RCC carefully. The group had been independent close to consumer research. RCC and RAC have
and dedicated exclusively to retail marketing for years. But vol- always known that flyers were not going away, he
unteers can only take an organizational mission so far. Ultim- says, but how flyers and other communications
ately, the board of RAC decided "to make the best choice for vehicles fit into a marketing campaign has been
members and the industry." RCC, which had been involved in subject to debate. Getting the right composition
managing RAC's symposiums and administration, proved to requires constant study of retail marketing and
be the strongest and most natural ally RAC could find. "When consumer behavior. "Retail marketers need to
it comes to marketing and retailers, who better to align our- understand how these changes in the market inselves with than RCC?" says Tompkins.
fluence budgets and marketing approaches, and
RAC members will be grandfathered into RCC's existing that's what RAC and RCC will continue to do for
membership fee structure. RAC activities, like its popular sym- the industry," says LeBlanc.
posium, which will be held on April 28 in Mississauga, Ontario,
will continue, as will its ongoing advocacy and research into For more information about Retail Advertising and
matters concerning retail advertising and marketing.
Marketing Canada, visit www.retailcouncil.org/
Maintaining a tight focus on retail marketing is an impera- rac-retail-advertising-marketing-canada.

www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

WINTER 2016 | CANADIAN RETAILER

| 9


http://www.retailcouncil.org/rac-retail-advertising-marketing-canada http://www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016

PUBLISHER'S DESK
RETAIL CURRENTS
UNDER THE BANNER
EXPANDED OFFERING
RCC APPOINTS NEW BOARD CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR
AT ISSUE
COFFEE, EGGS AND IKEA
CONTENT-RICH CONFERENCES INSPIRE RETAILERS IN VANCOUVER AND QUEBEC
THE SUBMISSIONS ARE IN
INDUSTRY RESEARCH
FREEDOM OF IDENTITY
TALENT SHOWS
WINNING THE WAR OF FIT
ADVERTISER'S INDEX
CONSULTING ON THE FUTURE OF RETAIL
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - ebelly1
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - ebelly2
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - cover1
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - cover2
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 3
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - PUBLISHER'S DESK
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 5
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - RETAIL CURRENTS
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 7
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - UNDER THE BANNER
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - EXPANDED OFFERING
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - RCC APPOINTS NEW BOARD CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 11
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - AT ISSUE
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - COFFEE, EGGS AND IKEA
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - CONTENT-RICH CONFERENCES INSPIRE RETAILERS IN VANCOUVER AND QUEBEC
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 15
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - THE SUBMISSIONS ARE IN
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 17
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - INDUSTRY RESEARCH
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 19
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - FREEDOM OF IDENTITY
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 21
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 22
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 23
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 24
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 25
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - TALENT SHOWS
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 27
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 28
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 29
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - WINNING THE WAR OF FIT
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 31
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 32
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 33
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - ADVERTISER'S INDEX
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 35
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - CONSULTING ON THE FUTURE OF RETAIL
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 37
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 38
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - cover3
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - cover4
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2016 - 43
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