ORLANDO – It should come as no big shock that millennials cite Facebook and Netflix as the top brands in positive word-of-mouth sentiment among their peers. That specialty size apparel retailer Lane Bryant would rank as the most improved brand in 2017 is a testament to the company’s efforts to improve the way that the world sees women, according to CMO Brian Beitler.
“Doing good can be very good business,” says Beitler. “In the future, particularly with the way millennials and even the next generation feel about companies’ responsibilities, it’s very likely that you won’t be able to do good business without doing good.”
Lane Bryant was one of many brand marketers showcasing their purpose-driven positioning and communications strategies at the 2017 Masters of Marketing conference of the Association of National Advertisers. In this interview with Beet.TV, Beitler explains Lane Bryant’s efforts to change the way women see themselves and how the world perceives them.
“We want a world where all women are seen as beautiful, all women love fashion, all women have access to amazing fashion. If she’s more confident, if she feels more comfortable, the truth is she’s going to spend more on apparel.”
Along the way, Lane Bryant has broken new ground in sponsorships with the likes of Sports Illustrated and Glamour, to name just two. Just over a year ago, the retailer founded in 1904 took the title sponsorship of the first SI Swimsuit Issue to feature plus-size models in a campaign titled “This Body.”
Lane Bryant inked the Glamour magazine’s first-ever apparel licensing deal and teamed with Refinery29 to help surface the “invisible majority”: the 67% of American women who wear plus-size garments. “Our goal is to reshape the way that we see women,” Beitler says.
Asked how the company measures campaign success, he cites brand growth and consumer perception. Last month, the YouGov BrandIndex listed Lane Bryant #1 in most improved brand sentiment among millennials, ahead of brands like GE, Royal Carribbean Cruises, Tesla, Forever 21, Payless and Nintendo Wii.
As Beitler notes, that ranking was among “not just women but millennials in general.”
This video is part of a Beet.TV leadership series produced at the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference, 2017. The series is presented by FreeWheel. Please find more videos from Orlando, visit this page.
