aerie
In this age of “authenticity” — consider the popularity of Bernie Sanders, organic food and craft beer — marketers have a tough job.
They have to “keep it real,” while putting out an idealized enough version of products to paint a dream that consumers can buy into.
That is particularly tricky with apparel, where marketing relies on models who, by definition, don’t look like the rest of us — or at least not like me.
But American Eagle Outfitters AEO, +0.32% has cracked the code. To establish its authenticity cred, American Eagle throws away the air brush and brings in a few models with a few extra pounds, enough to be considered “curvy.”
‘If they can figure out the right way to do it, aerie can be a full-blown business unto itself.’
The formula works. American Eagle pitches bras and panties to teens and young women this way, and they are eating it up.
Sales at the Pittsburgh-based company’s intimate-wear division, called aerie, are amazing in a sluggish retail environment, thanks to this “aerie real” campaign. Sales at stores open more than a year are expected to have grown 13.5% in the quarter ending Jan. 31, according to Thomson Reuters consensus forecasts, pushing overall American Eagle growth up to 4%. (We’ll know actual numbers when American Eagle reports March 2 after the stock market closes.)
That crushes other retailers like Gap GPS, +0.75% whose sales are expected to shrink by 5.1%; Abercrombie & Fitch ANF, +4.36% with expected flat sales; Kohl’s KSS, +0.28% up 1.7%; Target TGT, +0.17% up 1.5%, and Wal-Mart WMT, -0.38% up 1%.
American Eagle’s stock, as a result, has shot up: Seven percent in just the past week. That even beats Netflix’s NFLX, -0.70% and Facebook’s FB, +0.12% meteoric gains.
What’s at work here? The aerie real and untouched models “speak to young women in a really new way and a really positive way,” said aerie President Jennifer Foyle in the company’s most recent conference call. “Our customers believe in what we stand for.”
Well, this isn’t exactly new or unique. Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” launched in 2004 featured women with a more realistic range of curves. Mattel MAT, +1.15% recently launched a “Curvy Barbie.” And Sports Illustrated has gotten in on the act, selling its latest swimsuit issue with a “plus-size” model on the cover.
Beautiful the way you are
But this strategy still resonates, because rejecting pretty much unattainable beauty ideals puts consumers at ease so they are more likely to relate to products, say marketing experts.
“American Eagle is putting out imagery that says, ‘Our photos are not retouched. You are beautiful the way you are.’ That realness is important, and it feels like a celebration. For women, it feels uplifting,” says Jessica Navas, who is chief planning officer at Erwin Penland, a creative agency that handles marketing for brands like L.L. Bean, Denny’s and Frye, among others.
The aerie campaign taps into two more key trends for young consumers. At least to some degree, it satisfies a desire to buy from companies that look like they are trying to change the world, says Navas. The idea here is that the aerie real campaign arguably contributes to more positive self-imagery among women.
The campaign also sparks a social-media conversation with young consumers by encouraging them to post pics of themselves in aerie wear on Instagram, under the hashtag #aeriereal. This taps into a teen desire for a higher profile on social media, says Deborah Cohn, who teaches marketing at New York Institute of Technology School of Management.
“Aerie has asked real people to post real pictures of themselves, and it rewards posters by increasing their visibility.”
It’s a clever way for aerie to work its way into consumers’ lives.
