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More immersive, more clever, more engaging — there’s no exact science to American Eagle’s social media strategy this holiday season, though, in the chase for its quick-paced Gen Z consumer base, CMO Craig Brommers says a go-big mentality could be the gift that keeps on giving.
Indeed, this year the retailer is ramping up its activations across social media and the metaverse with the launch of three virtual, shoppable experiences on Snapchat, a themed holiday market and expanded presence on Roblox and a holiday card hashtag challenge on TikTok meant to bring the community together and spread much-needed holiday cheer.
The emphasis on augmented reality and immersion this year was reaffirmed by brand research polling consumers aged 15-25 that found the young demographic is approaching the holiday season with a “revenge living” mindset, or looking to make up for time lost from pandemic-dominated years.
“Too many holiday celebrations have been taken away from [Gen Z] over the last two years, and nothing is getting in the way of them in terms of the holiday with their friends and their community,” Brommers said.
Merry metaverse
As social commerce continues to rise in popularity, American Eagle found itself as an early adopter to innovative tactics used to reach social media’s dominating younger demographic, and the payoff is what helped lock-in this season’s largely-immersive holiday plans. For example, Brommers pointed to the success of its Snapchat augmented reality stores, which allow users to virtually shop for and try on various outfits that they can then purchase. On average, each variation of its virtual stores on Snapchat have generated about $2 million in revenue.
“Inside of a $5 billion dollar company that may not sound that impressive but it does tell you that if you’re targeting Gen Z, you’re in the attention economy and you’re in the entertainment business and these immersive experiences seem to be something Gen Z is excited by,” Brommers said.
This year’s holiday season will see a larger investment in the Snapchat activation that will launch Nov. 2 and include three virtual, shoppable...