Brief:

• Victoria's Secret's Pink collection on Tuesday unveiled a revamp of its loyalty program and mobile app to focus on college-aged women. The app overhaul includes a fresh UX for easier navigation, as well as access to special deals, first looks at new products, in-app games, member-only shopping events and college-related content, according to a press release shared with Mobile Marketer.
• The Pink Nation app and loyalty program are free to join for iOS and Android users, and new registrants will receive a special offer after downloading the app and each month thereafter, though the company didn't provide additional details. The redesigned app also aims to connect college women with Campus Reps who serve as brand ambassadors at more than 100 U.S. universities.
• To kick off the mobile loyalty initiative, the company will host a concert featuring DJ-producer Marshmello on a double-decker bus at Chicago's Navy Pier on Sept. 22, along with pop-up activations around the city and a members-only event at Pink's flagship store in the "Magnificent Mile" shopping district. The wrapped bus will then depart on a multi-city tour.

Insight:

With a renewed focus on loyalty and a freshly designed mobile app, Pink aims to deliver a more engaging brand experience for young women and teen girls. By providing college-related content — survival guides, study advice and dorm move-in tips — on its revamped app, Pink could more strongly connect with millennials and Gen Zers who are tuned in to mobile content and may be more receptive than other generations to interacting with games, influencers and other smartphone content. The emphasis on college women also makes sense, as the brand sells collegiate apparel and previously incorporated university emblems and imagery into its digital platforms and stores. 

Tying in-person events to its mobile loyalty launch party will likely drum up excitement for the brand, as well as generate earned media from people posting photos of the Chicago events on social media. A UNiDAYS and Ad Age Studio 30 study of more than 22,700 college students found that the digital-native Gen Z demographic typically prefers in-person brand interactions like this over those on digital platforms.

As for the longer-term strategy behind the loyalty app — despite the fact that just 22% of Gen Zers make purchases on a smartphone — Pink is leveraging the exclusivity element with its members-only influencer events and experiential pop-ups to drive continued engagement.

Pink's loyalty program originally launched in 2009 and has grown to more than 2 million active monthly users, per the press release. The brand appears to be now focusing on nurturing deeper connections with established and new fans to drive return customers as the Victoria's Secret banner faces shaky sales growth and shifting consumer preferences.