For many brands, companies must provide more than just the product to become superior. In the lingerie industry, Victoria’s Secret and Aerie are the biggest contenders for the young adult target market. To compete with the industry-dominator, that is Victoria’s Secret, Aerie needed to add something more to their products. And what did they add? Confidence, in the form of their #AerieReal campaign.
The fashion industry typically uses photoshopped images of “perfect” women that rarely have imperfections. Aerie, the sister company of American Eagle Outfitters, wanted to change that. They began the #AerieReal movement, where they only used photos that were not photoshopped. According to Aerie, their ads are “challenging supermodel standards by featuring unretouched models in their latest collection of bras, undies and apparel.”
Aerie wants each of their customers to believe that they are beautiful. They want them to know that it isn’t just the outside that counts, but that they are beautiful inside as well. This creates body positivity and confidence which is what many young women need these days. Over the past decade, the media has created an image of what perfect should look like and has dramatically decreased many women’s confidence. Campaigns such as #AerieReal are great steps into reversing that. Other companies such as Dove and Lane Bryant have also been using similar campaigns.
The best part of this campaign? It’s working. Within the first year of the campaign, sales grew 20% (2015). And it grew another 32% during the first quarter of 2016. According to American Eagle CEO, Jay Schottenstein, “Aerie has a long runway ahead and I believe this is one of the most exciting and emerging brands in retail today.”
Aerie’s latest campaign update is the #ShareYourSpark movement. Within two days, they brought in 40 women for a photoshoot. These women included models, actresses, bloggers, Aerie buyers and more. By using social media and launching the campaign in their stores, it went viral. The campaign encourages women to share “positive vibes and words of advice for other girls” on their social media pages. Not only does this empower their customers, it promotes their brand at the same time.
Aerie also supports the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). For every picture that is posted on social media with the tags, “#AerieReal @aerie”, Aerie will donate $1 to NEDA. They’ve also contributed donations through in-store purchases to provide continued support to the organization.
It’ll be interesting to see how successful the campaign continues to be over the next few years, and how well it competes with rivals such as Victoria’s Secret. Let me know how you feel about the campaign in the comments below!
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