Dive Brief:

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s Hollister brand is extending its partnership with AwesomenessTV for a 12-episode original YouTube series starring social influencers and celebrating the "spirit of endless summer," a press release announced.
• Along with the "The Carpe Life" digital series, which will roll out a new episode each month, Hollister and AwesomenessTV plan to host two events this year, including the AwesomenessTV x Hollister Beach House that features the retailer's "swim squad" and entertainment by DJ Gryffin.
• The two companies' partnership began in 2017 with a separate original series and multichannel campaign to reach Hollister's Gen Z audience through events, soundtracks and exclusive content. The first YouTube series, "This is Summer," boosted key brand metrics by double digits for the retailer, such as affinity and purchase and recommendation intent, per the release.

Dive Insight:

With "The Carpe Life," Hollister hopes to ride on the success of last year's original content series, which drove engagement for the retailer with an increasingly important — but often difficult to reach — shopper segment. By partnering with the Gen Z-focused AwesomenessTV and tapping social media influencers, Hollister recognizes that young consumers are watching TV less and are more often glued to digital video screens.

The new content series ties into the brand's broader "Carpe Now" platform, with a whimsical, live-life-to-the-fullest message that might resonate with Gen Zers, who are more likely to participate in health and lifestyle activities than older generations. Influencer marketing is frequently cited as one of the best ways to reach Gen Z, as younger generations tend to be more trusting of influencers over both celebrities and traditional brand advertisements. Gen Zers additionally spend an average of two hours per day on YouTube, making the platform an essential channel to reach this audience. 

Hollister isn't alone in adopting this type of digital-first approach, as 70% of brands now use influencer campaigns as part of their marketing strategies. The low-priced apparel brand has recently shown strong performance in an otherwise bleak brick-and-mortar retail category, boosting parent company Abercrombie & Fitch's bottom line and seeing net sales rise 10% to $508.1 million in Q3 last year, according to Retail Dive.