Retail Marketing

Old Navy is celebrating its 30th anniversary with the ‘94 Reissue, a limited-edition collection that updates iconic ‘90s designs for a new generation of consumers, according to details shared with Marketing Dive. The collection launched Sept. 13 and offers nearly 200 styles, including the baby tees, baggy jeans and tracksuits of the brand’s self-described “golden era.”

“At Old Navy it’s not just about the fashion, but the joy we experience in it,” said Zac Posen, chief creative officer at Old Navy, in a statement. “If we look back at the ‘90s, it was a moment of moving from possibilities to reality, the juxtaposition of pop culture meeting indie culture, meeting hip hop. It was a time that allowed people to express themselves and their self identity — and that’s what the team has re-created with the ‘94 Reissue collection.”

To promote the collection, Old Navy has debuted the “Once More ‘94” campaign, which spans in-store, digital media, social, out-of-home placements in New York City and a limited-edition zine available online and in stores. The collection is one of the first major moves spearheaded by Posen, a designer known for dressing celebs on Hollywood red carpets who joined Gap Inc. in February. 

The ‘94 Reissue and “Once More ‘94” are the latest part of Old Navy’s brand reinvigoration, a process being undertaken throughout the Gap Inc. family of brands. After four consecutive quarters of comparable sales growth, Old Navy remains the bedrock of the company alongside the eponymous flagship, Banana Republic and Athleta. The new work comes after a year focused on financial and operational rigor.

“We’ve been really working on our brand reinvigoration work, having a new visual identity, new codes being introduced and a subtle evolution of the brand,” said Chief Marketing Officer Behnaz Ghahramani. “We felt that this 30th anniversary and this new capsule collection around our ‘94 reissue was an incredible moment to be able to reassert our brand and to launch our new brand playbook for Old Navy.” 

Ghahramani joined Old Navy one year ago after marketing stints at Gucci and Ralph Lauren and three years as CMO for luxury shoe company Stuart Weitzman. The executive spoke with Marketing Dive about the new campaign, how the brand approaches nostalgia and more.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

MARKETING DIVE: Can you tell me about the inspiration for this new collection and campaign?

BEHNAZ GHAHRAMANI: It was actually inspired by a lot of things that we were seeing from our community and the fandom across TikTok, like the love that people had for what Old Navy was during that moment in time, and obviously the nostalgia that everyone has for the ‘90s right now across generations. A few years ago, we saw that our customers were having these viral moments with our Tech Vest, our Performance Fleece and our jingles that were all about “it’s hip to zip.” 

Both millennials as well as Gen Z are craving a time that represented an era that was more optimistic, more joyful and just simple. That really inspired us to have this Reissue collection. The teams really went into the archives and dug into vintage elements of the brand to bring it back to life. From a marketing standpoint, we did the same. Our teams really studied ‘90s culture and ‘90s fashion magazines. 

We were inspired by the ‘90s color palette. Everything from our product videos and photography was all through the lens of the ‘90s, tapping into the nostalgia, but also bringing in the relevance for today.

We’ve seen a couple recent campaigns that also used zines. Tell me about yours.

We actually created a zine inspired by Delia’s, Sassy and Seventeen Magazine, and got art direction, photography and the energy and movement of that sort of collage, cut-out moment. We refreshed it for today.

There was so much love for the zine within my marketing organization. It was really a labor of love, because it took everyone back to that moment where you couldn’t wait to go through [the zine]. You had those quizzes, your horoscope and the interactivity that came with a collateral piece like that that really immersed you into a moment. 

I think customers are craving that. What we’re seeing with this and with the collection itself is that it definitely is something that connects to our existing core customer and millennials, but will also have a strong relevance and connection for Gen Z.

What does the campaign look like in digital, social and the other channels you’re running?

We introduced our new brand purpose, “We invite everyone to come play with style,” and that was a guiding principle of how we wanted to bring this to life. There’s a lot of play, joy and optimism that comes through the colors and the photography and the movement that you see in the in the campaign and in the collection. 

Nineties nostalgia is definitely something that is in the cultural zeitgeist. We really wanted to tap into that because it was such a big part of our brand heritage as well, and to celebrate that and to reimagine that as we’re reasserting our brand. All the touchpoints that you will see across online, in-store and social will be a really fun part of this.

You’re celebrating one year as CMO of Old Navy. What drew you to the brand?

I was really drawn to come to Old Navy because I believe it’s such an iconic American brand with such a deep heritage and one that I was really excited to connect with new audiences. I’ve worked with a range of retailers and brands, and all that have had some element of brand transformation, reinvigoration and modernization.

What drew me here was that I have such deep respect for the brand building and the storytelling that we are able to do, and I wanted to do the same and bring that expertise of storytelling to life for a brand like Old Navy. There is such a deep love for this brand, and to be able to bring a brand and make it fun and accessible for all was such a big part of the draw for me.

Target has partnered with a range of famous designers over the past quarter century, helping to bring high-end ideas to affordable retail. The big-box store’s latest limited-time collaboration, launching Sept. 21, 2024, takes a different approach: Rather than work with the Mizrahis and Schoulers of fashion, the company has shifted focus to the world of Malteses and Shih Tzus.

The retailer has partnered with six social media pet influencers — or “fur-fluencers” — on its first exclusive collection for pets, Marketing Dive can exclusively share. The strategy is a sign of the rising significance of creator culture to brands, a trend that has led companies like Target to shake up their internal marketing.

The Cuddle Collab, which spans a half-dozen product capsules themed to each influencer partner, along with more general pet items, attempts to better recognize the 70% of Target shoppers who own a furry friend, per internal company data. Marketing behind the effort, including Target’s first reality TV-styled social content, national ads starring Bull Terrier mascot Bullseye and strategic out-of-home (OOH) placements, is intended to provide a bit of levity as the U.S. remains gripped in division. Target’s internal creative team is behind the campaign that puts viewers in the point-of-view of their pets.

“We think people are going to need a lot of outlets this fall. They’re going to need some happiness, they’re going to need some lightness,” said Michelle Mesenburg, a Target veteran who stepped into the newly created role of senior vice president of creative and content in July of 2024. “If there’s one thing that almost all of us can agree upon, that’s the unconditional love of pets.”

Social reshapes creative

A five-part social series, dubbed “The Pets of Tarjay,” takes a cue from reality TV tropes and is part of Target’s renewed efforts to provide entertaining content to smartphone-glued consumers. Target is also producing videos where creators will comment live on the episodes, mirroring the tertiary media ecosystem that’s surfaced around actual reality TV.

Target began experimenting with episodic series, such as “Teammates of Target,” earlier in 2024, to positive response. The Minneapolis-based business has recently realigned its marketing divisions to better collaborate in this area, including through Mesenburg’s new appointment. Target has made other changes to its marketing structure recently. In June of 2024, it announced it would shift CMO Lisa Roath to chief merchandising officer of food, essentials and beauty beginning next year. Target is in the process of searching for Roath’s successor.

“The advent of content and creators out in the world and social has largely reshaped how we think about creative,” Mesenburg said. “We are intentionally bringing our social content and creative collaboration teams, who work largely with talent, together with our in-house creative team. It’s going to allow us to think more holistically about the total landscape of storytelling and creativity.”

Other marketers are ramping up their entertainment offerings to reach consumers who have cut the cord on linear ad-supported channels. Chick-Fil-A is reportedly exploring a streaming service carrying family friendly programming, with a bent toward unscripted fare, while E.l.f. Cosmetics recently debuted an entertainment division with the announcement of an original album release.

Beyond “The Pets of Tarjay,” Target is leaning heavily into its influencer team to spread word of The Cuddle Collab. The “fur-fluencers” are comprised of six dogs and five cats that have accrued millions of followers on platforms like Instagram. Partners include: therapy puppies Ellie and Emma; “modern” cat trio Zelda, Titus and Brave; food-focused dog Popeye; fashion-oriented dogs Ghost and Wren; self-care promoting Maple Cat; and dog-and-cat combo Baloo and Pan.

With prices starting at $3, the collections span an array of over 180 items, from pet essentials like beds, bowls and treats to accessories that can be matched with human owners, including a charm bar centered on personalization. The Cuddle Collab lookbook is available to view on Target.com and via the brand’s app. The assortment will be available for several weeks or while supplies last. 

“Target is known for fashion collaborations. There are some elements in this collection that go above and beyond our everyday assortment when it comes to fashion,” said Mesenburg.

Eyes on Bullseye

Target’s bid to connect with pet owners is a natural fit for one of its most recognizable brand assets: Dog mascot Bullseye. An ad campaign appearing on social, linear TV and streaming, “Pet Takeover,” shows the white-coated canine sneaking into a Target and letting animal companions — including one pig — in through a secret door to peruse The Cuddle Collab goods. Real pets were used in the commercial, which was shot on location at a Target (though only service animals are allowed during regular shopping hours) and is soundtracked by Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!,” a major pop hit of 2024. Agency EssenceMediacom handled media. 

Digital, social and OOH buys are also helping raise awareness for The Cuddle Collab. A custom Snapchat filter allows for virtual pet try-ons at home while Target is building in-store shop-in-shop concepts to call attention to the collection. In addition, Target is placing billboards in large metro areas with high pet ownership, such as New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas. Ads will appear adjacent to dog parks to connect with pet owners while some in New York and LA will feature an interactive scavenger hunt game. 

Winning over millennial and Gen Z pet fanatics could help with Target’s turnaround plan. After a slump period that saw the big-box store swept up in culture wars controversy last year, the retailer returned to growth in Q2 2024, with sales up 2.6% year over year to $25 billion.

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By TikTok

As you may have noticed, it’s once again the busiest shopping season of the year, but what does that really mean? Well, in 2023, it meant $964.4 billion in core retail sales. So, with holiday revenue closing in on the trillion-dollar mark, there’s a lot of room for small businesses to maximize their take by optimizing a video marketing strategy specifically for the high-intent shopping season.

It all starts with starting early. On TikTok, 68% of users shop weeks before the holidays, with 21% shopping more than a month in advance^[1], and overall, a recent Gartner, Inc survey shows that almost two-thirds of people start their holiday shopping as early as June. It’s a matter of meeting your audience when they’re looking as well as where they’re looking, so if you haven’t started yet, it’s time!

One thing that applies to both the when and the where is how you’re meeting your audience, and thanks to TikTok’s video-first format, we’ve developed a winning formula for easily creating show-stopping content that converts. While it works all year round, it can be a real lifesaver during the hectic holiday advertising season.

Kick it off with a killer hook

If you don’t capture your audience’s attention right away, the odds of it happening at all aren’t great. We recommend reeling people in within the first 3-5 seconds regardless of where you’re posting. Share a shopping tip or a hack, highlight a holiday promotion, or just call out your target audience. The hook is really about making sure people are paying attention, so while what you’re saying should be relevant, it also needs to be exciting, intriguing, or hopefully both.

Showcase your unique selling points

Now that you’ve drawn your audience in, you’ve bought yourself a little time to convince them that what you’re selling is what they’re looking for. This middle section is the sales pitch and lasts about 10 to 20 seconds in a typical TikTok video. Show why your product is popular, tell people how it solves their problems, or just spotlight it with enticing visuals. This is also a great opportunity to show off some brand personality or share your values. When you connect with your customers, they’ll feel better about making a purchase.

Choose a clear, concise CTA

The last 3-5 seconds are for closing the deal, making them the most important for your sales stats. Once you’ve gotten your audience here, you have to be clear on what their next step should be and motivate them to take it. It could be as simple as telling customers to check it out for themselves or reminding them to claim their holiday offer, but the easier to follow, the better. Don’t sacrifice clarity for cleverness.

Embrace your brand

While it’s easy to get weighed down by sales pressure during the extended holiday season, make sure your brand voice continues coming through in your videos. Authenticity is the superpower behind this powerful ad format. Letting your brand personality show helps you form an emotional bond with your audience, and that equals loyalty, enthusiasm and better word of mouth. 

Videos are a key part of any campaign, and given the importance of the year’s busiest shopping season, each one needs to make an impact. Our simple video formula is your creative North Star for ramping up a successful small business holiday sales strategy.

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^[1] Source: TikTok Marketing Science + Material, US Holiday Research 2022, February 2022

Apple’s most recent fall showcase, typically a flashy display where the tech giant has unveiled its newest products and tech innovations, introduced consumers to Apple’s latest hardware, including the iPhone 16. Perhaps more notably, the company also shared updates on Apple Intelligence, its answer to the ongoing wave of excitement surrounding generative artificial intelligence (AI).

The event, announced with the tagline “It’s Glowtime,” follows Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June where it first revealed Apple Intelligence, billing it as a personal intelligence system for iPhone, iPad and Mac that joins generative AI models with personal context to drive relevancy. The news, supplemented by the reveal of an OpenAI partnership, is a testament to the way in which the mobile landscape is poised for change as AI strategies graduate from concept to reality.

“I think everyone was just waiting for [Apple] to get in the game because there’s such an opportunity to reach so many people with the capabilities,” said Nicole Greene, vice president and analyst at Gartner. “When you think about the real premise of gen AI, democratization and accessibility is what’s surging the technology forward.”

The realization of Apple’s AI plans is likely to change the ways consumers engage with the technology — a level of influence the iPhone purveyor is no stranger to possessing, Greene added. Beyond Apple, a number of marketers this year have explored the potential for generative AI, whether for more mundane tasks like generating social copy and boosting commerce experiences or to support mobile-focused campaigns.

“All of our data and research is showing that this is the year of implementation, where businesses are taking this technology very seriously and trying to figure out how it can specifically either solve existing challenges, or move business forward with new opportunities,” said Greene.

Underneath the excitement, questions remain: What can be expected from the current regulatory environment? How can companies leverage the tech while staying brand safe, and what kind of experiences will already hesitant consumers value?

Social media’s growing potential

Within mobile marketing, social media remains a dominant channel — and one likely to be affected by AI’s rise. Social will account for nearly $242 billion of ad spend this year, per industry forecasts. Accordingly, key platforms like TikTok and Pinterest have sought to keep up with AI hype in hopes of differentiating themselves. In its latest earnings reports, Meta has provided a steady drip of updates on its AI capabilities, which it says are improving marketing performance.

For many advertisers, use cases for AI on social media have revolved around tasks like copy generation and ideation, Greene said, while functions like image generation have been less common. Many marketers have tested the tech in small waves and taken a more cautious approach to AI adoption for such tasks, said Jourdan Gariepy, associate vice president of optimization and innovation at Kepler. Those tests have tried to maintain a human touch to ensure accuracy, an approach the exec doesn’t expect will change.

“I think there’s always going to be a need for the marketing team to check that what we are putting out there is correct in what we want those brand guidelines to do,” Gariepy said.

Leveraging AI for social copy versus for images or video — an area in which platforms like TikTok have begun to require disclaimers — also poses challenges in relation to transparency, Greene said, noting that it’s easier to label an image or video as being created with generative AI than it is for copy.

AI has additionally proven helpful for creating multiple versions of assets, like changing where a call to action appears or making tweaks based on locality, to offer a more personalized experience, said Michael Shaughnessy, chief operating officer at Kargo.

“What we’ve found is, adding these additional changes to the images, we’ve seen that favorability has actually improved by a fifth, or 20%,” said Shaughnessy.

A number of marketers have used AI to bolster their mobile-focused campaigns, from Sprite to Vitaminwater to Reebok. For Entropico, a global creative company that has worked with brands like Google and Samsung, AI is used most frequently in the pre-production and ideation stages, unless a brand is using the tech for the sake of producing an innovative campaign, said Joey Hunter, the company’s chief creative officer. The exec emphasized the tech’s limitations when it comes to matching the value of human creation.

“I love a little Bob Ross happy accident, and you can’t get those if you just run a prompt and it spits something out,” Hunter said.

AI for mobile commerce, apps

Mobile marketers could also find success with AI in boosting their capabilities for mobile commerce, an area in which U.S. retail sales will reach nearly $560 billion this year and account for 44.6% of total U.S. retail ecommerce sales, according to eMarketer. One area where generative AI is taking hold in commerce is for understanding the bridge between product description and the language consumers use to search for that product, Gariepy said.

However, some applications of AI could pose challenges to web experiences. For example, the tech could potentially lower the amount of traffic going to a brand’s site, reducing the size of its remarketing audience, Gariepy said. Functions like Google’s AI Overview feature, which uses generative AI to provide summaries at the top of search results, have stoked fears around lowered web traffic.

As AI use grows, Gariepy believes that a stronger focus on the holistic user experience will be key for understanding target consumers’ behavior, especially as cross-channel shopping experiences become more prevalent.

Also behind mobile’s ad spend, which is expected to cross $200 billion this year, are apps, which will make up 81.9% of spending. While 27% of app marketers rank adopting AI solutions as their top priority for 2024, 25% rank it as their top challenge, according to AppsFlyer.

Generative AI could provide big opportunities for app marketers, according to Greene, particularly for assisting with the code to provide more personalized experiences and a smoother updating process. Several brands in recent years have sought partnerships with apps versus making one of their own, recognizing the difficulty in obtaining valuable real estate from consumers on their mobile devices. With AI, there may be a stronger incentive for brands to create their own apps.

“All of our research shows it’s really hard to get someone to leave a channel,” Greene said. “So as a brand, if your goal is to get someone to buy something, if they can do that seamlessly within your app enabled by AI, then it makes sense to have an app.”

In the same vein, it’s worth noting that existing apps can benefit just as greatly from the tech, the exec continued.

“Brands still need to be really cautious about investment in apps given that the apps people [already] have will likely become more useful,” she said.

Regulatory uncertainty fuels hesitancy

While AI has sparked curiosity in mobile marketers, uncertainty surrounds areas like brand safety and regulatory requirements. The E.U. AI Act takes a risk-based approach while executives in the U.S. are steeling themselves for what could be costly safeguards around data privacy and security in relation to AI.  

There are also groups like the Content Authenticity Initiative, a cross-industry community aiming to make content authenticity and transparency accessible and scalable, that have marked a “huge step forward” regarding governance, Greene said. However, in an attempt to keep up with the tech’s rapid progress, the exec expects some responsibility to be passed off.

“I think the onus begins to shift toward the brands, where, candidly, regulatory is looking at brands to say, ‘You need to guide responsible use, we can’t really control this yet because AI is one step ahead,’” Greene said. “We don’t want to have what happened with social media, where it became the Wild West.”

A number of firms have begun to put forward guidance in hopes of protecting brands in their use of AI. To learn about how the telecommunications sector sees generative AI, global strategy consulting firm Altman Solon recently partnered with Amazon Web Services to survey over 100 senior business leaders at Tier 1 communication service providers (CSPs) across the globe.

“One of the things that came out pretty loud and clear across all segments of CSPs was that all telcos felt that they really had to work on governance,” said Priya Mehra, director at Altman Solon. “The issue around governance, data security and risk associated with data has become even more important over the last year.”

Through its research, Altman Solon created a structure highlighting people, processes and technology that it deems key for implementing generative AI governance. While intended for the telecom industry, the advice in the report, which includes steps like structuring generative AI governance teams and creating a repository for AI models, in most cases can also apply to marketers broadly, Mehra said.

In addition to brand safety concerns, data security around AI also remains top of mind. Eighty-four percent of marketing chiefs believe AI and machine learning could impact their data security, according to the CMO Council and KPMG.

Generating demand

Unanswered questions also create challenges for the mobile marketing vendors that are pitching brands on various AI capabilities, said Thomas Husson, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, in emailed comments. With AI being such a buzzword, some marketers have started to feel fatigue.

“Most players are still figuring out which gen AI marketing use cases to scale among the many they have experimented [with], and once they’re ready for it, they will want to select the players that have a truly robust AI roadmap and who are able to integrate with their broader technology systems,” Husson said.

While the typical recommendation for marketers would be to go with what is customer centric, consumers also aren’t yet aware of the potential capabilities of AI, Greene explained.

“Eighty-two percent of U.S. consumers believe that gen AI will not be a benefit to society,” Greene said. “Now, how does that intersect with … the percentage of how many people have mobile phones?”

For now, the quest for productivity is the most resonant among marketers, the exec continued. Additionally, while AI could be seen as a way to offer a more personalized experience to consumers, and in turn help collect valuable first-party data. Greene stressed that data should be the first step in the equation.

“If your data isn’t ready, you’re not ready for AI,” Greene said. “You really need to have a clear view of what your customers want in order to better understand not only their intent, but obviously profile potential customers.”

The exec argued that while AI is a valuable asset to marketers’ toolkits, the tech “will not fix all the things — it is not pixie dust.” As curiosity endures, brands shouldn’t be afraid to analyze the ways in which AI can help solve their hardships, she continued, so long as they also know when to walk away.

“One of the things I talk to marketers about is, go through your biggest challenges and opportunities and say, ‘Can gen AI help with that?’ If not, move on to the next one,” Greene said. “Don’t try to force fit it because gen AI will not solve all the problems of marketing, but it can do many things.”

Wrangler was present at Super Bowl LVIII in February, but not with a $7 million commercial buy: Instead, a pair of the brand’s Cowboy Cut jeans were worn by Post Malone as the rapper-turned-country star sang “America the Beautiful” before kickoff.

Leaving that type of cultural impact has been key to Wrangler’s marketing strategy in recent years, especially since Lil Nas X name-dropped the brand in global smash “Old Town Road,” from 2019, and helped kick off a larger Western trend (or “yeehaw agenda”) in fashion. (For its part, Wrangler tapped into the song’s popularity with an innovative mobile experience.)

Since then, Wrangler has teamed up with country musicians and cultural forces like Barbie, “Twisters” and Buffalo Trace bourbon and built positive momentum for its brand: Wrangler saw global revenue increase 1% year over year last quarter, per the most recent earnings report from parent company Kontoor Brands, which raised its full-year outlook.

To keep the ball rolling, Wrangler will launch its first new global advertising campaign since 2021. “Good Mornings Make for Better Days,” crafted by Wrangler’s in-house marketing and creative teams in collaboration with Ridley Scott Associates, will run across streaming video, social media, audio and TV.

A 30-second hero ad showcases customers and employees outfitted in vintage and seasonal Wrangler gear while enjoying breakfast at an old-school diner. When a jukebox playing ‘70s hit “Jeans On” starts skipping, a man in boots and a cowboy hat gives it a line-dance kick — like a country-western Fonzie — before riding off into the sunrise in a pickup truck. 

The campaign is steeped in Wrangler’s Western heritage and values around hard work, optimism, courage and taking on the day, explained John Meagher, vice president of global brand marketing.

“We all put our jeans on one leg at a time,” Meagher said. “Wrangler has always been there for hard-working men and women who get up and do whatever they need to do, and do it with confidence. We just wanted to really shine a light on and focus on that.”

Authentic cultural connections

“Good Mornings Make for Better Days” also sees Wrangler return to national broadcast TV and kicked off during the Sunday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans on Sept. 15. The ad will run during a range of NFL and college football games, along with during the final season of Paramount’s “Yellowstone.” 

“[Sports] is an area that we’re focusing on from a media perspective as well as a partnerships perspective to try to generate awareness across new consumers,” Meagher said. 

To that end, Wrangler has signed name, image and likeness (NIL) partnerships with college athletes and, in a natural fit, is a sponsor of the Dallas Cowboys. Activating around sports allows Wrangler to engage a male consumer base for which sports is a passion and a key source of media consumption, especially as cord-cutting and the migration to streaming continues.

“Live sports, especially the NFL, gives us that broad-based awareness that hits everyone at once, like cable and network television used to do,” Meagher said.

For Wrangler, music acts as a second cultural pillar around which to market. Country music, specifically, has been part of the brand’s DNA for decades, spanning partnerships with legends like George Strait and contemporary stars Cody Johnson and Lainey Wilson that have allowed Wrangler to engage its core consumers and extend into new audiences.

“The strategy has evolved somewhat [but] country music is still very much at the front and center of how we activate,” Meagher said. “We’ve got a core group [of ambassadors] now, but we’ll look at what different audiences we want to engage with through our artists, as well as activating through festivals.”

Authenticity remains a watchword for marketers, and Wrangler is no different. Being true to its Western roots put the brand in position to seamlessly capitalize on trends in fashion and music, putting it in a better position than brands that try to chase trends.

“You could call it luck, but I think it’s been good planning,” Meagher explained. “Even when we do collaborations with brands, we always want to make sure that there is a level of authenticity to the collaboration… We’re not trying to be someone we’re not.”

Balancing brand building and performance

The advertising industry at large has faced a pendulum swing from performance marketing back to brand-building basics that sees marketers better balancing short- and long-term needs. Wrangler, as an apparel brand with both wholesale and direct-to-consumer sales, is no different.

“Marketing leadership has really been balancing our brand equity with short-term demand creation, and it’s a constant push and pull,” Meagher said. “My remit is to make sure that this brand stays strong into the future, and we remain the icon in America that we are.”

To do so, Wrangler balances its channel mix throughout the funnel, from streaming video and audio at the top, through mid-funnel tactics that build interest and consideration like paid social and an influencer program, down to lower-funnel tactics driving conversion like search and display. The brand also remains committed to radio as a way to reach core consumers on their commutes to job sites.

“I wouldn't say there’s a silver bullet,” Meagher said. “I don’t think we’ve solved it, and I’m not sure any brands have solved it, but I do think we’ve got a really good model in place that is making sure we’re taking advantage of everything.”

Increasingly, taking advantage of all channels means investing in retail media, a space that is expected to grow 13.7% year over year to reach $153.3 billion in 2024. The proliferation and increased sophistication of retail media offerings by Walmart, Target and Amazon gives Wrangler another — if not fundamentally different — way to maximize conversions.

“Strategically, I think it’s a similar approach — the media is just sitting in a different place, like it might be a display ad on Amazon or paid search on Walmart or Google search,” Meagher explained. “They’re all different tactics that are doing similar jobs, just converting where the consumer wants to convert.

“Our brand has so many consumers with so many different needs, and I think that’s one of the beauties of Wrangler,” the exec continued. “It’s also one of the complexities of it: making sure that we understand who our consumer is and meet them where they are.”

The balance of power in the sneaker industry is shifting as legacy brands like Nike and Adidas face fresh challenges from upstarts. As newcomers including Hoka and On gain market share, Allbirds — among the category’s original fleet of direct-to-consumer disruptors — has contended with slumping sales. Now, it’s looking to change the narrative with a revamped marketing strategy.

Founded a decade ago, the San Francisco-based company first rose in popularity thanks to its comfortable designs and a sustainability minded ethos. Once deemed the “it” shoe of Silicon Valley, Allbirds saw its fortunes turn following an IPO in 2021 and over expansion into retail. Net revenue dropped 26.8% in Q2 2024, partially due to the closure of 10 stores, though the company narrowed its losses.

Allbirds this year has shaken up leadership, promoting Chief Operating Officer Joe Vernachio to CEO in March and appointing new product leads. It has debuted new shoe models that are gaining traction with consumers. The latest offering, the cushy, minimalist Tree Glider, is the biggest launch of the bunch and a key piece of a return to stronger brand building, kicking off a larger “Allbirds by Nature” platform.

An ad campaign created with Sid Lee has a dreamy quality as people walk around in Tree Gliders before floating into the air. Messaging emphasizes the dual meaning of “nature” in relation to both the Earth and intrinsic human qualities. A partnership with Melissa Wood-Tepperberg, a wellness influencer and founder of Melissa Wood Health, rounds out the effort.

“We’re excited about building a platform that can sustain us through the lens of consistency, repetition and investment, hopefully for the next five-plus years,” said Kelly Olmstead, who took on the CMO title at Allbirds in December of 2023.

Olmstead’s prior roles include nearly two decades at Adidas, where she helped lead brand, retail and digital marketing for North America. Below, Marketing Dive spoke with the executive about tapping into a cult following via customer relationship management (CRM) and what marketing tactics are catching her interest this year. 

The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

MARKETING DIVE: You’ve been in the CMO role almost a year now? 

KELLY OLMSTEAD: We’ve been in the midst of this brand reset. I joined as a contractor and I wasn’t sure about coming back to a footwear brand. I came in and just fell in love first with the people here and the spirit, we say a lot: “High horsepower, low ego.” I was really disarmed by that. I stayed because I do think Allbirds is poised for a strong return. 

One of the things that struck me out of the gate was this perfect storm of opportunity. We have an incredibly high [Net Promoter Score]. Coming from this industry, to be north of 80 on an NPS means people that know us love us. But we have very small and steady awareness, around 15% to 17%, that is hard to move. It’s about telling more people about the brand and getting more people to try us. 

What was missing from the past marketing strategy that didn’t connect those dots? 

We’re nine years old. Marketing takes time. What I’ve been excited to do with Joe [Vernachio], with [Chief Design Officer] Adrian [Nyman] and with our agency partner, Sid Lee USA, is formulate a campaign and a platform that will endure. It has the breadth to allow us to dimensionalize great products and what’s special about those products, but also can flex into this more aspirational brand space. People that choose Allbirds are making a conscious choice for something that is a little lesser known. It’s kind of counterculture, it’s not the mainstream. 

How have the cross-organizational aspects of the brand changed since you joined? Did it used to be more siloed? 

Joe was with the company for a few years. In assuming the CEO role, he comes in with a wealth of knowledge, not only in Allbirds, but also Mountain Hardwear, The North Face, Nike. He’s done it all. He’s not necessarily a CEO by trade. With this whole “high horsepower, low ego” [idea], he has really gone out and tried to break down silos. I can’t speak to what it was before but certainly now there is a spirit of all of us getting on the same page and getting a clear plan. 

It’s a challenging time for the business. How are you balancing launching this new marketing with that contraction? 

There’s been a lot of great work done to get Allbirds to a more operationally healthy place. What I am feeling, not only from the executive team but the board, is the willingness to invest in brand. It’s the view that it has the potential to be a 100-year brand. That’s a shift of the way that we market, the KPIs we’re looking at. Having been at some brands that have been around for a lot longer, that’s how you weather storms and downturns. 

The balance of brand building versus performance marketing is a bigger theme I’ve covered. Allbirds is natively DTC. How is the organization thinking about media differently? 

There’s been changes in terms of operations. Performance marketing used to sit with e-commerce, now it sits with marketing. We’ve been able to look at the performance of assets and stories and react to those to get to the best work. That’s been a huge benefit. 

There’s a more modern way to look at a platform, whether it’s YouTube or Netflix or even TikTok, to entertain, to give the consumer something valuable so that you earn their attention. If not, they’re done in 3 seconds. We’re hoping to articulate the Allbirds story, which is unique and not something you’re going to get in 3 seconds. We’re looking at longer-format content, where Allbirds may not be the first thing you see, but hopefully you get a lot of value out of what we’re putting forward.

You mentioned a couple of platforms, like Netflix and TikTok. Are you advertising on those platforms?

We’re on YouTube with this most recent campaign. We’re on TikTok and all of social. What’s coming in Q4 2024 is still not baked, but we’re looking at what the right platform is to build a more robust story for Allbirds. In the space of footwear, it’s such an emotional purchase and there’s such high consideration that you have to do the work.

It’s an interesting time for footwear, generally. Nike and Adidas have both struggled with challenger brands. Do you think of yourself as being within that set?

Absolutely. Allbirds was one of the first to come in and disrupt. I was sitting at Adidas and saying, “Who are these guys?” Allbirds was really at the forefront of challenging the big dogs and doing it in a way where they walk the talk. Very few brands will open source some of the secrets that make them great. That was my first exposure [to Allbirds]. We did a collaboration between Allbirds and Adidas on what was, at the time, the most sustainable running shoe on the market. There is a real opportunity that Allbirds helped to create. 

I think of shoes as being bucketed into streetwear, sports performance and comfort. Is there any one of those or a mix of them that you’re looking for Allbirds to have a bigger stake in?

In the last couple of years, we’ve really put forward this story around sustainability because that is a leadership space for us. The “Allbirds by Nature” campaign realizes that nature is a much bigger, more aspirational position. 

“Effortless by nature” is the line that we are associating with the Tree Glider. You see this maximalist, overdone viz tech [from other brands]. The Tree Glider is really interesting in its ability to be comfortable but it has the confidence to not have an overt logo. That was an intentional design choice from the inception. There is a real opportunity to have a more sophisticated take.  

Tell me more about the Sid Lee relationship. Is this their first work for you? 

It is. Both Joe and I, separately, had a relationship with Sid Lee before. We brought in Sid Lee and it was a true collaboration. When we got to “by nature,” it was so simple but it does have breadth. You can articulate product benefit, aspirational human benefit and style benefit. It’s the consistency that we need. We’re too small to be telling different stories all the time.

We’re in the thick of back to school and holidays are coming up. What’s your plan for H2?

The Tree Glider launch will be our biggest push, certainly since I’ve been here. We’re excited to be back in streaming, TV and true awareness channels to articulate what Allbirds is about and do it in a more distinctive, ownable way. Going into Q4, we’re looking into deeper stories we can tell and maybe more longer-format content in addition to everything we do on social and within the digital and retail space and with influencers. It is, we believe, a story we’ll be telling well into Q1 2025. We see this as the first step and the hope is, by Q3 of next year, that we’re in a rhythm in terms of marketing and investment.

Is there anything new tactically or in terms of technology in 2024 that you’re particularly excited about? 

We haven’t been at a place where we can push into awareness-driving efforts, so partners, influencers and awareness channels. That’s certainly not a new tactic, but it’s something that we haven’t been as invested in. For the launch of the Tree Glider, we partnered with Melissa Wood-Tepperberg. I don’t believe she partners with brands she doesn’t truly believe in because her credibility is at stake. 

We have a pretty exceptional CRM program that we own [called C360]. It’s the ability to have almost too clear of a picture. More data is not necessarily better. Just recently, we brought in new team members that have helped us build a solid strategy around how to unlock that, how to prioritize what we do with it. They are thinking about how to use personalized marketing and CRM in a much stronger way that helps us put the right products in front of customers at the right time. 

Levi’s has teamed with Beyoncé for a new campaign titled “Reiimagine” that will reinterpret several of the brand’s iconic advertisements, according to a press release. The first chapter in the campaign reworks the 1985 ad “Launderette” with the global icon in the lead role and direction by filmmaker Melina Matsoukas. The effort includes television, out-of-home, digital, social media, print, brand activations and exclusive products.

Levi’s partnership with Beyoncé comes after the singer included a song, “Levii’s Jeans,” on her country music-inspired album “Cowboy Carter” in March 2024. The culturally embedded campaign was created with agency TBWA\Chiat\Day LA and produced by de la Revolućion/Prettybird.

Levi’s latest campaign puts the denim marketer at the forefront of pop culture thanks to the megawatt star power of Beyoncé, connecting its longstanding brand identity with a figure who has become a force in the worlds of music, art and fashion. The brand hopes the campaign will support the growth of its women’s business as the “definitive denim lifestyle brand,” said Kenny Mitchell, global chief marketing officer of the Levi’s brand at Levi Strauss & Co.

“The Levi’s brand has and always will be the unofficial uniform for those moving forward in the pursuit of better. We believe a key part of that is continuously breaking and building the codes of culture,” Mitchell said in a statement.

The partnership has been rumored since Levi’s promised “A New Chapter” on Instagram with a silhouette that resembled Beyoncé, and has seemed inevitable since the singer name-dropped the brand on her latest album. “Levii’s Jeans” soundtracks the first chapter of the new campaign in a spot that sees Beyoncé recreating "Launderette," confidently stripping off her jeans and waiting until they wash as a male model did in the original spot while onlookers gawk.

“Denim on denim has often been seen through a male lens, so this reimagining campaign, which celebrates the iconic female perspective, is important to me,” Beyoncé said in the press release.

The first spot was directed by longtime Beyoncé collaborator Matsoukas with cinematography by Emmy Award-winner Marcell Rév. Levi’s also worked with photographer Mason Poole on the campaign.

The integrated effort will roll out over a variety of traditional and digital channels and kicked off with digital projections in key markets including San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, New York City, Atlanta, Paris, London and Berlin. Additional out-of-home elements launch Monday around the world.

Levi’s in March 2024 (just days before the release of "Cowboy Carter," coincidentally) debuted a campaign titled “The Floor Is Yours” centered around the idea of the brand as the “unofficial uniform” for progress. The effort was the first work from creative and social agency of record TBWA\Chiat\Day, the shop that helped create “Reiimagine.”

Levi Strauss & Co. in reported an 8% year-over-year increase in net revenues in Q2, with a 17% increase in the Americas. President and CEO Michelle Gass attributed the growth, in part, to Levi’s “prominence at the center of culture.”

Levi’s is not the only brand that is looking to boost its denim offerings through country-western marketing. Competitor Wrangler this month returned to national broadcast TV and kicked off its first global advertising campaign with a spot that focused on its Western heritage.

American Eagle is taking a page from its past for the launch of a new brand platform, giving fresh energy to a 20-year-old “Live Your Life” slogan to promote self-expression, inclusion and acceptance. The platform coincides with the rollout of the brand’s back-to-school campaign.

“Live Your Life” — a phrase trademarked by American Eagle for over a decade —  made an appearance in the retailer’s back-to-school marketing in 2012. The slogan is being modernized for Gen Z and will be ingrained in a fall 2024 campaign that includes a partnership with 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff. College football appearances, 3D billboards and a collaboration with Life on Film to capture disposable camera footage round out the effort.

“Our intent is that ‘Live Your Life’ will be with us for many, many years to come, so our team really views this as a jumping off point,” said American Eagle CMO Craig Brommers. “Back-to-school really is our Super Bowl and we’re spending a lot of money around talent and surprise activations and content creation to cut through initially.”

The revival of “Live Your Life” was inspired by consumer research across Gen Alpha, millennials and the retailer’s target Gen Z audience that sought to uncover how the generations regard American Eagle and what they look for in a clothing brand. Among the findings was the sentiment that the retailer is loyal to values like self-expression. Respondents more broadly also indicated a hunger for human connection and real experiences.

American Eagle is leaning into both of those insights with “Live Your Life,” Brommers said, noting his belief that “iconic brands run toward who they are.”

“Just like ‘Just Do It’ for Nike or ‘My Calvin’s’ from Calvin Klein or even ‘Aerie Real,’ there’s just some things that make sense,” said Brommers.

New energy, same denim

American Eagle’s fall campaign is headlined by tennis star Gauff, along with Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and actors Kristine Froseth and Nikki Rodriguez, who star in Gen Z-focused series “The Buccaneers” and “My Life with the Walter Boys,” respectively. Through its tie-up with Gauff, the retailer unveiled a Coco Gauff x American Eagle collaboration in August 2024 that includes a nod to the athlete’s iconic U.S. Open quote, “Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me.”

Talent featured in the retailer’s campaign, who will appear in digital, in-store, social and out-of-home ads, were selected to better target the “Live Your Life” mantra at Gen Z. Brommers described the group as the “hustle generation.”

“These are multi-hyphenated individuals who really encapsulate Gen Z,” the exec said. “They’re athletes, they’re activists, they’re communicators, they’re business people.”

The ambassadors also satisfy what the marketer describes as American Eagle’s “passion pillars,” or the key interests of Gen Z, which include categories like gaming, social media, sports and community impact. The retailer regularly leverages a customer panel consisting of around 2,000 people aged 15-25 to gather insights that drive culturally relevant marketing. A number of marketing efforts have been inspired by the panel, like 2023’s tie-up with Amazon Prime Series “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”

 

American Eagle’s latest move comes at a high point for the retailer, which reported record Q1 2024 revenue of $1.1 billion. The back-to-school season is a major opportunity for the brand to keep momentum rolling, though spending for the period is expected to fall slightly from $31.9 billion last year to $31.3 billion in 2024, according to Deloitte. Other forecasts yield a sunnier outlook — JLL expects spending to surge nearly 22% — providing Brommers a sense of hopefulness.

“One thing that has been resilient over the years is that parents will, in fact, help their kids and put them first, so I think we’re optimistic about this back-to-school season,” the exec said.

Other elements of the back-to-school push include pop-ups at college football games to tap into Gen Z’s sports fixation. American Eagle’s partnership with Lawrence represents the first time the brand has had an NFL star fronting one of its campaigns.

Emotional, not just rational

To engage Gen Z’s appreciation for self-expression and authenticity — a tactic adopted by other marketers this season — American Eagle has teamed with Life on Film and over 200 people, including actors AnnaSophia Robb, Chris Briney and Jonathan Daviss, to capture disposable camera footage showcasing how they live their lives. The footage will be edited into a video montage that will be shared across both the talent and the brand’s social media channels, representing a more candid form of content than the brand usually puts forward in its back-to-school marketing , Brommers explained.

“I think that’s why I’m so excited by this campaign and how it differs from things we’ve done in the past,” Brommers said. “If you fast forward 30 days, if you fast forward 60 days, I’m not sure where we will be with this campaign because we really want our customers to explore what ‘Live Your Life’ means to them, and we’re going to follow them where they help take this campaign.”

Additional guerrilla-style marketing, like custom videos projected on American Eagle stores, invites customers to “be a part of the campaign,” though full details are yet to be revealed. Three-dimensional billboards in markets like New York will complement a slate of outdoor activations that are intended to blow last year’s back-to-school efforts — described at the time as the brand’s largest outdoor push since the pandemic — out of the water.

“We’ve got some really crazy innovative things coming up in the outdoor space,” Brommers said. “I think we’re in the entertainment business as much as we’re in the retail business, so we should be challenging ourselves to be as entertaining as possible.”

The array of channels American Eagle is activating symbolizes the diverse interests of Gen Z, Brommers explained, while the nods to self-expression and inclusion are meant to strengthen its connection with consumers on an emotional level. That focus has helped the retailer stay in business for nearly five decades.

“We have the best damn jeans out there and all the market share data would showcase that, but I don’t think you can be competing at the level we’re competing at just on the rational,” Brommers said. “I think you actually do have to compete on the emotional as well.”

As parents and their children prepare for the back-to-school season, Carter’s is launching a campaign with creative focused on the youngest kids that it outfits. “More Than Just Cute,” the first work from the apparel brand’s partnership with agency Mischief, looks beyond “cute” to spotlight the fits and functions preferred by young parents in the millennial and Gen Z age range (the oldest members of the latter cohort are in their late 20s, after all).

A 30-second hero spot, “All I Am,” includes voiceover stating that “cute is too superficial” to describe an infant. The narrator goes on to dryly list “accomplishments” like crawling in the mud and playing with apple sauce.

“Don’t settle for just cute,” the narrator adds. “You’re more than that.”

“All I Am” and a handful of 6-second videos that key in on specific kid actions — like pushing a glass of red wine onto the carpet — are running across broadcast and social platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. For 160-year-old Carter’s, which bills itself as the largest North American baby and children’s apparel company, the campaign that debuted Aug. 1 represents an attempt to reach a new generation of parents.

“How do we create this campaign that really redefines us as a brand, that leans on all the things that we’re known for — our durability, our quality, our comfort — and showcases the product and a brand through a new lens, but still leans into the history of the company?” CMO Jeff Jenkins said of the needs of the campaign.

Jenkins spoke with Marketing Dive about “More Than Just Cute,” key insights about Gen Z consumers, how Carter’s approaches loyalty and more.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

MARKETING DIVE: What drove the creation of the “More Than Just Cute” campaign?

JEFF JENKINS: It really started with data and insights about how the consumer is changing, what those expectations are and then finding a partner that was right for us as we shifted directions. Mischief came on board and I think the challenge that we gave them was: The consumer is changing — more Gen Z is becoming parents and they have a different expectation of a brand — and the baby clothes category is changing. 

Kids clothes used to be all about being cute. Now it’s about being stylish and “mini mes” and [representing] yourself on social media as a parent. The challenge that we threw to Mischief was, we want to make sure that we’re pushing the envelope forward in our category, that we’re not thinking about how the category behaves, but how the consumer behaves. We want to make sure that we push the brand in places that are uncomfortable, but not unnatural. Gen Z and millennials, we scroll all day, and so a traditional ad gets scrolled right by — how do we create thumb-stopping content in that context? 

A generational shift has gone from “cute” to “style,” and we’re more than [cute], we’re a brand there for every moment, not just the what I would call the Olan Mills or Lifetouch Photography moments of the ‘80s and ‘90s. We’re the brand that understands that for every post you do on Instagram, there are 99 outtakes on your phone that didn’t make it. 

I think everyone saw little bits of themselves [in the campaign]. This is how consumers talk and behave, and it just resonated with every single insight that we handed over. 

“Uncomfortable but not unnatural” makes me think of the campaign’s 6-second spot that shows a kid riding a bike right into a basketball post, and the voiceover about “durable fabrics [being] the only thing standing between kids’ butts and the world’s foot.” What was your approach on presenting familiar moments like that?

JENKINS: We’ve all taken those videos, which as soon as you realize the kid is okay, then it becomes funny. That’s the type of content you’re seeing on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. So much media has shifted to the creator space. It’s not the polished work of an ad agency.

Mischief has done a brilliant job of blending this traditional advertising model with this creator content-type of model, and then we pull it through into creator content that is being created on behalf of the brand, as well as all of our store experiences and billboards.

What are all those things that the next generation, whether it’s Gen Z, Gen Alpha or millennials,  grew up with that is now informing their parenthood choices?

Speaking of short-form video, how did you approach the channel mix on this campaign?

JENKINS: We have a great partner in Assembly as our media agency. We were already heavily [invested] in a lot of the platforms that are part of the campaign, but how do we go deeper? How do we build out creator content that supports this in a new media economy? How do we be part of these are huge communities, whether you think about it as “MomTok” or “ParentingTok?” That’s where consumers are getting their information around brands, tips and tricks and hacks of surviving parenthood, so we need to be there and be part of that. 

There’s still a place, though, in the media mix for these traditional channels. This has a huge billboard, out-of-home component to it. We’ve seen Gen Z and millennials to some degree have really gone back to the malls post-pandemic. Seventy percent of our sales go through stores, so what’s the experience when it comes to life in malls, where consumers are really shopping, particularly in our category where you touch and feel baby clothes when you’re a first time parent? 

Carter’s revamped its loyalty program this year. How does that feed into the brand’s marketing?

JENKINS: It all ties together. Particularly in our category, we’re really lucky that if you buy a three-month-old bodysuit that has fire trucks on it, I can guarantee you’re probably going to be buying a six-month one in three months. We can get to this personalization journey in ways that others can’t. At Best Buy, you may buy a record player one month and a washing machine three years from now. We know this cadence.

Almost 90% of our sales go through our loyalty program. Compared to some of the industry averages from the key loyalty players in the space, like Starbucks, we’re at the top of the game, which gives us great insight to consumer behaviors and what they want.