Hollister Co. is sponsoring Snapchat?s Spring Break live story with millennial-centric video snippets that play into a larger narrative, featuring two male friends trying to impress the same girl.

The apparel retailer, which is owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, is engaging in a mobile marketing push as it ramps up to boost brand awareness and sell products to millennials going on upcoming trips. The retailer?s Spring Break-themed snippets were interspersed throughout the live story on Snapchat, which showcased users? uploaded photos and videos from popular locations such as Mexico and Florida.

?This is a great example of how to effectively leverage mobile media and creative to break through to shoppers,? said Christine Cline, vice president of marketing at Retale. ?Hollister is serving contextually-relevant content at the exact moment when users are thinking about Spring Break.?

Right channel, right content
Snapchat is increasingly rising as a must-have communication platform with which to reach younger consumers, as evidenced by the number of brands sponsoring the photo-sharing application?s live stories. While Instagram and Facebook are still crucial parts of marketers? millennial-targeting strategies, Snapchat offers a way to showcase more organic material in line with consumers? interests.

Hollister sought to engage its target audience with relevant content by sponsoring Snapchat?s Spring Break live story. Live stories are visible to any user, and feature an aggregated slew of photos and videos from people in a specific location or celebrating a certain event.

In this case, the Spring Break live story displayed revelers in popular warm-weather locales ? such as Mexico, Texas and Florida ? partying on the beach and laying out in the sun. Hollister?s ads appeared after approximately seven to ten public photos or videos.

The apparel marketer?s story centered on two male friends attempting to win over a teenaged girl while enjoying their own Spring Break. The brand?s videos played into a larger narrative instead of simply showing several unrelated advertisements.

In one under-ten-second clip, the friends frolicked in the sun before collapsing on the shoreline in Hollister-branded swim trunks.

A subsequent snippet showed the trio standing in a pile of snow, with the two boys joking around in their swim gear as the girl giggled in her cold-weather outfit.

The final advertisement featured the boys grabbing the girl?s smartphone when she was not looking, and taking funny selfies on it.

The phrase ?Take me somewhere new? ? as well as the Hollister logo ? was displayed on nearly all of the retailer?s ads.

Staying millennial-minded
Hollister?s Spring Break strategy will likely pay off for the brand. Younger consumers viewing the Snapchat story and planning their own vacations may become inspired to purchase some of the apparel marketer?s swimwear or clothing pieces.

Its parent brand, Abercrombie & Fitch, has also been engaging in a mobile blitz as it ramps up to accommodate rising mobile traffic and a millennial mindset.

With 60 percent of its online revenue coming from mobile, Abercrombie & Fitch moved forward with a new shopping app last fall ? its first in more than a year (see story).

An Abercrombie & Fitch executive at eTail West 2016 also discussed how the millennial-friendly retailer revamped its mobile app and site with commerce-first tactics, such as using color to drive urgency and implementing add-to-bag calls-to-action (see story).

?With the increase in ad blockers and continued risk of the ?Fat Finger? trend, marketers should be looking for opportunities to reach their audiences with engaging and relevant content at the moment where users are most likely to interact,? Ms. Cline said.