Connecting with Canadians HBC style

An epic journey and exercise in social media brand building is now underway in Canada where four intrepid young men are crossing the country in a custom RV to promote awareness of Hudson’s Bay and have a good time in the process.

The 90 unit department store chain kicked of the tour on on June 19th in Vancouver, British Columbia. The custom branded RV which features the retailer’s signature stripes will stop in 49 Canadian cities and before arriving in Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland on August 11th. Dubbed “Project Aventure,” the two month journey is billed as a celebration of Hudson’s Bay’s past, present and much-anticipated future with a truly Canadian experience that showcases the outdoors

"Our brand has always represented the Canadian spirit of adventure and this cross-Canada tour is an opportunity for us to engage with our consumers in an exciting way and take them on a trip of a lifetime across this beautiful country and into the great outdoors,” said Marc Metrick, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Hudson's Bay.

The team of four travelers, Michael Simonetti, 27, Brent Marson, 27, Ryan Banting, 20 and Chris Arthur, 20, will document their activities on land, sea and air in a series of Web episodes that begin airing on July 1 across all social media channels, according to the company. The men will partake in surfing, kayaking, bear tours, an alpine helicopter tour, mountain biking, visiting a bison safari, snorkeling with Beluga whales, dog sledding, wakeboarding, waterskiing, the CN Tower Edge Walk and paragliding while equipped with cameras. In addition, along the way, selected Canadian Olympic athletes will meet up with the explorers for exclusive Olympic training sessions. The explorers will get to spend a day in the life of an Olympian and will receive lessons from the pro's in the sports or activities that they've spent their lives training for, or in their current outdoor athletic passion including surfing, kayaking, mountain biking, volleyball and archery.

Plans call for the tour to stop at various Hudson's Bay locations across the country in major markets including Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and Moncton, where consumers can stop by the parked RV and hang-out with the explorers to hear about their journey to-date and what's just around with the corner.