After winning a competitive RFP from the One of a Kind Winter Show earlier this year, The Local Collective was tasked with strategically refining and crystallizing the brand’s messaging in an evolving consumer market.

The new focal point of the brand is a play on the One of a Kind Show’s long standing fingerprint logo, which represents the personal touch of the artisanal vendors that comprise the event. Re-adapting the finger print in vibrant colours and dynamic lines, TLC wanted to highlight the unique features of hand-made craft against a design landscape that is increasingly relying on digital art and artificial intelligence.

One of a Kind’s senior director of marketing, Domnita Postea, said the new strategy grounds the brand in the current societal context while simultaneously rekindling its relevance for both existing and new audiences.

The finger print designs are paired with quippy headlines championing artisanal work, including: “Certified human-made”, “Gifts made by gifted artists”, “Go where the algorithm doesn’t”, “No AI was used in the creation of these vases,” and “Machine Intelligence could never.”

The campaign is in market now, ahead of the Nov. 23 start of the show, at the Enercare Centre. Media includes digital, social, OOH, transit, print, and a Cinema/ Cineplex partnership, as well as a large-scale backdrop at the event.

“Now, more than ever, with the rise of AI dominating public conversation, there’s a strong counter appetite for things that are distinctly human,” says TLC’s ECD of advertising, Caitlin Keeley, in a release. “Especially at the holidays when people are seeking gifts that feel personal.”