Advertising’s impact and Topshop’s return: Your Marketing Week
At the end of every week, we look at the key stories, offering our view on what they mean for you and the industry. From American Eagle’s ad-fuelled sales boost to Topshop’s high street return, it’s been a busy week. Here is my take.
The eagle has landed
The eagle has landed
All publicity is good publicity. That will likely be the mantra being chanted by American Eagle’s leadership team, which has credited its divisive Sydney Sweeney ad for driving “unprecedented” new customer acquisition and brand awareness.
The brand’s ‘Good Jeans’ campaign starring the actress sparked a race debate this summer, while at the same time propelling the retailer back into the spotlight after a sleepy period of declining sales. Whether or not the brand was aware of the eugenics connotations ahead of launch or not, it has certainly benefitted from the exposure.
American Eagle’s CEO Jay Schottenstein called the ad “iconic” and credited the brand’s celeb-fronted advertising, which has also featured Mr Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, for driving “record-breaking” results.
While it feels jarring that no one on the leadership team referenced the controversy, the fact the brand’s CMO was also on the call with investors – a rare occurrence – shows the potential value the business sees in these campaigns.
While its sales dropped 1% in the three months to 2 August, building on the 5% drop it recorded in the previous quarter, it says the autumn season is “off to a good start”, with consideration and purchase intent up “meaningfully”, fuelled in large part by the success of the provocative campaign.
American Eagle’s shares also jumped 25% in after-hours trading following the announcement as its performance exceeded expectations. Whether it can maintain this initial boost will become clearer in the months to come.
“We are off to a start beyond our wildest dreams,” said CMO Craig Brommers on the call, but he pointed out a campaign can’t be judged in “just one day, one week or even one month”.
Building on the momentum it has created will be key if American Eagle is to convert new customers into loyal fans. Controversy can only take a brand so far. It’s what it does next that will be the true test. It takes more than a contentious ad to deliver lasting growth.
Top of the shops
Growing up, Topshop was an absolute staple. Party to go to: Topshop. New pair of jeans for school: Topshop. Saturday afternoon with no plans: Topshop. The hours I spent in the Labyrinthian Oxford Street flagship could easily be in the hundreds. It was an institution.
So when Topshop first revealed its plans to return to the high street this week via concessions in John Lewis stores, my initial reaction was ‘yay’. But that was quickly followed by ‘hmm’.
In its heyday, Topshop was the height of cool among teens and young adults. It epitomised everything girls wanted to be. In the late 1990s and 2000s, brand director Jane Shepardson elevated Topshop to a retailer like no other. Its designs were featured in Vogue. It collaborated with fashion icons. It had catwalk shows at London Fashion Week. It changed the face of high street fashion.
But a lot has changed since then and Topshop failed to keep up, leading to its eventual withdrawal from the high street five years ago.
While its comeback has been met with fondness, nostalgia will only take it so far. The girls once enamoured by the brand are now in their 30s and 40s and have moved on. Its successful return to the high street will also hinge on its ability to appeal to Gen Z, who have more choice than ever and possess none of the residual affection held by millennials to pull them into a store. I’m not convinced its tie-up with John Lewis will help it appeal to younger consumers, either, as its audience tends to skew slightly older.
Nailing its product and positioning will be critical. It needs to re-establish itself as a fashion-forward retailer to entice younger shoppers, while also re-engaging lapsed fans. Otherwise, consumers will quickly forget about it again.
Prime time
When a brand makes its TV advertising debut, it’s often about driving awareness, but for Primark, which launched its first TV ad in the UK this week, it’s about appealing to lapsed shoppers and driving consideration.
It wants to reignite interest in the brand by showing off the breadth of its expanded denim range, while also highlighting the wider rollout of its click-and-collect offer.
We spoke to Primark’s marketing director Wendy Duggan, who talked about the emotive nature of TV advertising that you can’t always get through performance marketing, which she believes is particularly necessary when trying to get consumers to “think a little bit differently or to reconsider the brand”.
It’s surprising a brand the size of Primark, which has been on UK high streets for 50 years, has not ventured onto TV before, but by showing up in a place consumers may not expect to see it, but where it feels very much at home, it certainly has the ability to reach consumers it otherwise wouldn’t.
The week ahead
We will be exploring the benefits of leaning into Britishness in your marketing communications speaking to three major brands who have done it successfully.
