Toronto Eaton Centre wants shoppers to stop messing up its name
Toronto’s downtown mall is frustrated that people keep getting its name wrong. According to Newswire, the mall conducted a video survey and found that many shoppers were in the dark about its official title—which happens to be Toronto Eaton Centre, in case that was unclear. Some of the blunders committed by uninformed shoppers included omitting the word “Toronto,” adding a rogue possessive (“Eaton’s Centre”) or prefixing the name with a “The”—an error committed by the mall’s own ad campaigns, including the seriously amazing one above. The damage this confusion has actually caused the brand is still unknown, but a new re-branding strategy is dedicated to clearing up all issues surrounding the mall’s identity. As part of the campaign, Toronto Eaton Centre is also slashing its awkward tagline, In.To.You., in favour of the slightly less awkward hashtag #ToTheCity.
Toronto Eaton Centre Marketing Director Meredith Vlitas attempts to set the record straight. “A name is one’s identity and we welcome Torontonians and tourists alike to embrace it by joining with us in calling our mall by its true name: Toronto Eaton Centre.” Time will tell whether shoppers will “rise to the challenge” of using the mall’s full name, which is a bit of a mouthful. So far, the city’s other major institutions don’t seem quite as concerned about full-name usage, but who knows—maybe The Leafs will be next.
If there were other Eaton Centres (Scarborough Eaton Centre, Etobicoke Eaton Centre, North York Eaton Centre), then this name branding would make more sense.
As it stands, there is only one. As such, “THE” (one and only) Toronto Eaton Centre makes it seem like the official centre for Toronto consumption. They should prefer this name.
Having said that, we certainly don’t go to The Fairview Mall or The Yorkdale Mall, we go to Fairview or Yorkdale. But then, isn’t Toronto Eaton Centre purporting to be “more than just a mall”?
There’s an Eaton’s Centre in Montreal.
Okay. I didn’t know that. But that would never be confused with “the Eaton Centre” in Toronto. Because it’s not in Toronto. No one getting off a train at Union Station or asking for directions from Islington Station is going to ask “how do I get to the Eaton Centre” and have someone reply, “which one, the one here in Toronto or the one 600km away in Montreal?”
Yes, but they don’t want you to call it “The Toronto Eaton Centre” they don’t seem to like prepositions. Apologies to Ms. Vlitas, but I’m unable to “rise to the challenge” of her stupid marketing nonsense.