Every November, the shopping free-for all known as Black Friday is the kick off to the holiday season that accounts for over half of annual retail revenue. In the fall of 2010, facing a challenging and somewhat uncertain economic climate, retailers looked for novel ways to encourage shoppers to visit their stores. For its fall campaign, Saks Fifth Avenue launched a promotion that declares—in a characteristically straightforward New York manner—"I'm Going to Saks," and makes the trip to the store an occasion.
Pentagram worked on the campaign with Terron E. Schaefer, Saks’ group senior vice president for sales and marketing. The team previously developed the store’s spring campaign, which playfully asked shoppers to “Think About…” offerings in various product categories like shoes, jewelry and outerwear. The new campaign is one of action. In advertising and on catalogs, the tagline “I’m Going To” appears in stylish black-and-white arrows pointing the way to the Saks logo, accompanied by declarations like “I’m going to Saks… because some biker chicks have a soft side” and “I’m going to Saks… for everything I want and nothing I need.” These appear alongside photographs by Anders Overgaard of models in motion using all forms of transport: taxi, skateboard, ski lift, hang glider and even crutches. (The fall catalog features supermodel Karolina Kurkova on a Segway; a dog sled appears on the cover of the holiday catalog.) On special shopping bags created for the campaign the arrows appear in a pattern inspired by the identity Pentagram designed for the store in 2007.
