The capture of the Millennial Market by Urban Outfitters
Millennials are our future consumers ; indeed, the business who listen to and focus on this up-and-coming generation will be more likely to secure their customers for life.
Urban Outfitters is an American multinational lifestyle retail. The headquarters are in Philadelphia. They are currently operating with a dozen of countries such as France, Sweden, Italy, Israel and Pakistan. This brand targets young adults with a range of women’s and men’s fashion apparel, footwear, beauty, accessories, music, housewares. Most of the products are designed and produced by the company’s wholesale division but also from multiple private labels and brands such as Nike, Ralph Lauren or others…
Urban Outfitters has a clear identity but full of different styles. It is described as hipster, mall punk, stylish, bohemian, retro. It is known for their great choice of different ranges. In 2011, they agreed to sell limited editions of Polaroid instant cameras in partnership with the brand. Since then, you can find polaroid and films. Furthermore, they are selling homeware and lifestyle and they are known for their original notebooks such as the ones in neon. They build their identity on how diversified their products are. Each store is pretty big, you have each section separated and three floors minimum to do your shopping.
Their principal targets are the millennials. UO understands the importance of a strong brand community and puts forward tools like social media to encourage millennial customers to join, engage with, and share their brand. 62% of Millennials state that they are more likely to become loyal customers when brands engage with them on social networks. Indeed, UO made a very smart move that helped them make the name of the brand highly known. UO has now over 9 million followers on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Snapchat. They are no stranger to online engagement. They use those social media to facilitate the two-way communication, which helps them build emotional relationships even from behind a screen. With the usual posts and hashtags, they have created an online community of fans who love their brand.
Furthermore, Urban Outfitters also make it worthwhile for customers to get engaged with their community. Using hashtags such as #UOOnYOU #UOMusic #UOMens, fans of UO have the opportunity to be featured on the brand’s community page, while also earning rewards for social engagement. This encourages followers to interact with the brand but also to keep creating content in order to become a “featured” member. In an analysis of digital engagement across popular lifestyle brands on Facebook and Instagram, Urban Outfitters has the highest engagement rate among competitors so far in 2018. (according to a report by share IQ). Jonathan Gardner, head of marketing at Share IQ, said the success of Urban Outfitters can be attributed to three key factors: smart content distribution, working with brand partners and influencers that resonate most with consumers.
In recent years, Urban Outfitters has experienced strong engagement on posts that feature retail partners that are particularly popular with its millennial customer base. Take Vans, for example: A recent post of Vans shoes available at Urban Outfitters received the retailer’s highest rate of engagement in 2018 so far, with 318,000 likes and comments. With other popular brand partners like Calvin Klein, Urban Outfitters has worked to tie promotions to social content about limited-edition products.
The frequency of UO use of social media promotions also illuminate the way they are using influencers, Recent posts feature well-known blogger Sophia Roe and lifestyle influencer Nuria Val, it is linked with pictures that other consumers shared along with the hashtag #UOonYou.
While the Millennial market presents challenges for brands who don’t understand their needs, this also presents opportunities for businesses to create a more engaging marketing strategy. Urban Outfitters has demonstrated the gain of a Millennial marketing campaign by placing importance on what’s important to their target market: a strong brand community, social interaction and rewards, and their voice as customers.
