I receive emails constantly from Hollister Jeans, American Eagle, and Forever 21 during the holiday season. I opened this email from Hollister Jeans
Promoting their $25 jeans The image they used to promote their jeans caught my attention. This blog post shows the image they selected. After closer inspection, I think they appeal to their customers via merchants of coolness and ethos.
This image shows five teenagers playing in the snow. Although we can’t see all of the legs in the image, we can see that three are wearing jeans. They all smile and seem to be having fun. It was interesting to see that they had a couch and a lawnchair out in the snow. This is not something that people often see. They are likely using merchants of cool to attract their customers and make them more interested in their product. Hollister jeans are a great way to feel comfortable and happy with your friends. Hollister suggests that you can live the bold, cool lifestyle these models lead by wearing their clothes.
The company is a merchant of cool that appeals to their target audience, but also to their core values. It is possible to see a group of people enjoying the snow, sitting on a couch and using a lawn chair as both cool and adventurous. People may desire to be associated with people who are adventurous. Hollister jeans are a great way to achieve this. Their main focus in the ad is the group of teenagers. This is the next way they appeal to their audience. A group of teenagers gathered together in a photo suggests they are likeable. They would not be hanging out with a group if they weren’t likable. If they weren’t likable, there’s a good possibility that they wouldn’t be having fun and smiling together. Hollister Jeans
Appealing to their ethos persuades people into wearing their brand. The ad claims that these jeans will make people happy, likable, and adventurous.
The appeals they make are powerful, especially in today’s society. Everyone wants to fit in and be liked, especially teens. Hollister Jeans
These things are used to target a specific audience. It does a great job. After seeing the email, I was compelled to purchase a pair of their jeans. They sell them at a fair price and also offer the idea of cool friends and adventure with their jeans.
Hollister Jeans
The brand launched back-to-school, a crucial season, with a campaign that was hyper focused on the global high school student in the places and channels they frequent. Hollister Jeans wanted to offer a 360-degree experience.
The denim destination for teens, back to school and beyond
We collected insights about how Gen Z shop for jeans. This helped us to develop a culturally appropriate strategy. Shopping for jeans is an emotionally charged experience for Gen Z. Teens want to feel confident in their jeans purchases. Many customers who are new to Hollister enter Hollister through the jeans category. They stay loyal if they love our denim. It is a fact that most teens do “fit tests” before trying on jeans. This led to the creation of a back-to school denim campaign, which focuses on helping teens find the perfect jeans.
To tell our story, we partnered up with some of the most influential Gen Z people in the world. Hollister was able achieve these goals by partnering with the most relevant Gen Z influencers to tell our story.
We were halfway through Hollister’s Back-to-School Jeans Campaign when Covid started spreading around the globe. The denim was designed to be real-world-tested in a world that didn’t feel very real.
Instead of taking our denim outside (as we had planned), we opened Zoom to the world. The Hollister Jean Lab was launched virtually by setting up at-home labs to simulate real-world situations. These labs were tested by Bill Nye, the most beloved Science Guy in the world, and Charli D’Amelio, its favorite TikTokers.
Bill Nye, Chief Jeanealogist, and Jeanealogists Charli & Dixie tested and approved every aspect our denim. They certify that there was no awkward waist gapping and that the fabric is stretchy. The jeans also resist fading.
The #MoreHappyDenimDanceTikTok Challenge was launched by the Hollister Jean Lab. Charli choreographed the dance to a Hollister song. We challenged Gen Z to show the world the happy dance they do after trying on the perfect pair.
D’Amelio’s partnership continued into the back-to school season. A live shopping event featured Charli and Dixie doing challenges, interfacing with fans, and dropping a special promo code for jeans. Charli and Dixie created a limited-edition product that had personal touches. This was only available to loyal members and fans before it was released worldwide. D’Amelio’s partnership continued into Holiday, creating a long-term and authentic partnership with Charli & Dixie.
RESULTS
The brand’s “Charli and Dixie” effect achieved significant results and set new records. The #MoreHappyDenimDance TikTok Challenge exceeded 5.4 Billion views (yes, Billion), becoming one of the most successful challenges in 2020. Charli and Dixie generated over 115M impressions to Hollister Jeans
Through 19 social media posts, drove bulk new-to file customers with every mention the brand. For the back-to school campaign, all social metrics showed significant YoY growth. Our expectations were exceeded by organic sales.
The total campaign caused significant shifts in brand perception and resulted in double-digit increases in all brand image metrics. We gained new digitally-native customers of high quality. The back-to school campaign was well received by our existing customers and reengaged ex-customers. The average customer spend per buyer in the US was +10%, +20% in EMEA and reactivated +25% US customers who had lapsed.
Both new and current customers saw significant gains, driving significant sales growth online. We also saw double-digit increases in the sale of male and female jeans. Our jeans were a hit with both men and women. Hollister Jeans was able to offer a +21% rate for females and a +9% rate for males.