The Beach BIA is made up of 300+ shops, restaurants and services along Queen Street East in Toronto. While locals and tourists alike flock to this east end neighbourhood for its sandy beaches and scenic boardwalk, the main retail strip on Queen Street is often overlooked. We worked with Redbox on a rebranding campaign to help raise the profile of the neighbourhood’s businesses with a new campaign, Make Waves, that leans into the area’s biggest draw.
The Beach: Making Waves in Toronto’s Most Distinctive Neighbourhood
The Challenge:
Claiming What Makes You Unique
It’s The Beach. Not The Beaches.
After years of debate, the City of Toronto and the Business Improvement Area officially settled on “The Beach” for branding and civic purposes — and the singular name says it all. In Toronto, there is no other neighbourhood quite like this one. For locals and visitors alike, the beach and boardwalk represent a rare urban amenity that sets this community apart as one of the city’s most beloved destinations.
The Beach Village BIA’s mandate is to promote local businesses and drive foot traffic. We partnered with Redbox to achieve this by creating a compelling sense of place — one that leverages the neighbourhood’s most enviable and inimitable asset.
The Strategy:
Put the Beach Front and Centre
While every Toronto neighbourhood can tout shops, restaurants, and main street charm, only one has an accessible, family-friendly beachfront woven into its identity. Our brand strategy was straightforward: own what differentiates you.
We developed a positioning that treats “beach” not just as geography, but as a state of mind. We sought to capture the carefree, sun-soaked feelings people associate with being at the beach, then connect those emotions directly to The Beach community. By elevating the beach and its iconic boardwalk as the neighbourhood’s signature draw, we could attract visitors who would naturally discover and support local businesses.
For residents, business owners, and tourists, the name itself — The Beach — feels instinctive and natural. It's how people already think and talk about the area. Our job was to amplify that intuition into a cohesive brand experience.
The Solution:
Make Waves
To embody the revitalization of this vibrant, historic neighbourhood, we created a tagline that's both timeless and fresh: Make Waves.
This simple phrase captures what people love about The Beach while adding a contemporary edge. More importantly, it resonates across all audiences:
- Locals: Make waves in your life — embrace the outdoors, enjoy good living, soak up the sunshine
- Families: Be yourself, whether you stick out or go with the flow
- Businesses: Lead, innovate, refresh your offering, try something new
- Tourists: Come play at The Beach — literally make waves and have fun
The Execution:
Bringing the Brand to Life
The “Make Waves“ campaign came to life through street-level touchpoints designed to capture attention and create atmosphere. Vibrant banners, bus shelter posters, and wayfinding signage featured bright, summery graphics paired with original photography showcasing real residents and authentic neighbourhood scenes.
The result: a brand identity that celebrates a lifestyle unique to The Beach, inviting everyone to experience Toronto's only true beach community.