When Planned Content Works: #AerieReal
Planned content saved clothing retailer Aerie’s brand and future.
For a long time, Aerie, which is the sister brand to American Eagle, stood in the shadows of Victoria’s Secret and its sister brand Pink. Aerie never really had its footing in where it stood in the lingerie market for a younger demographic. It wasn’t as overtly sexy as Victoria’s Secret, especially with no fashion show in sight.
That changed when Aerie revamped its brand position with a social media campaign that launched in 2014, #AerieReal. In a market where airbrushed, edited, perfect women grace ads and marketing channels, Aerie firmly positioned themselves as a brand where they would not retouch or edit any of their marketing materials.
There was an evident space for this message in the marketplace. With Victoria’s Secret capitalizing on sexy, Aerie had the chance to capitalize on real. Body positivity has been a growing movement online for a while now, but it seemed that Aerie was one of the first major corporations to strategically use this message in their marketing.
The hashtag #AerieReal has been heavily promoted every since. The hashtag has not only given the company exposure on social media, it has resulted in sales. For a company, sales are one of the most tangible pieces of evidence of a successful social media campaign. Social media exposure is great, but for a profit driven company if it results in no sales, what’s the point? Aerie did the best of both worlds: they got consumers engaged online, as well as buying their merchandise.
Their hashtag is also used in online engagement with their consumers. They are creating a supportive community of body positive, confident women on social media. We’ve seen other companies use an approach of being sassy or having clap backs on social media. But Aerie is using their online presence to create a supportive, inclusive community. Why wouldn’t their consumers want to spend their money at a company in which they feel is more of a community?
#AerieReal was definitely planned content. And if the purpose of planned content is to build brand value, that is what saved Aerie. This hashtag gave the brand an identity that consumers strongly relate to. It has created tons of impressions on social media, as well as sales within stores. That is a social media win for Aerie.
Some links with info/futher reading:
http://www.refinery29.com/2016/03/105576/aerie-american-eagle-photoshop-free-aeriereal-campaign
http://www.self.com/story/aeriereal-proves-that-body-positive-campaigns-are-indeed-profitable
