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Omnichannel development by culture

Boosting brand engagement with China’s Gen Z

A BRIEFOVERVIEW

Hollister is an American clothing brand owned by Abercrombie & Fitch. Founded in 2000, the company offers casual, California lifestyle apparel aimed primarily at teens and young adults. Hollister has a distinctive aesthetic, with an iconic visual identity featuring a seagull with outstretched wings, reflecting the laid-back vibe of California beaches.

Hollister has grown rapidly since its creation, and now has stores all over the world, in North America, Europe and Asia. It has also adapted to developments in e-commerce and established a strong digital presence, particularly through its website and social media platforms.

Hollister faced major challenges in the Chinese market. In a country dominated by fast-fashion brands, trendy influencers and new-generation fashionistas, Hollister found it hard to stand out. The young people of China's Generation Z were turning to other brands, both domestic and international, which were similar in terms of price and clothing categories.

Yet, recognizing the growing purchasing power of China's Generation Z and their focus on personalization, Hollister understood that it was crucial to re-establish its brand relevance with this key audience by adapting content. The brand needed an innovative approach to generate social buzz and boost the brand's online sales in China. This is how Datawords and its e-PR & Influence agency, Switching-Time, came into play.

With the aim of reaffirming Hollister as a fashionable brand among young people in China, we developed an integrated communications strategy, taking existing global elements and adapting them to Chinese cultural specificities. We therefore developed an influencer campaign that focused on three strategic areas: acquiring and retaining Generation Z consumers, increasing brand awareness and loyalty, and boosting sales and revenues.

As part of this strategy, Hollister has launched a campaign on the website Tmall, with a clothing collection focusing on Chinese food products aimed at young audiences. The brand designed original designs featuring popular dishes on their T-shirts, such as hotpot, bubble tea and xiaolongbao, creating a strong cultural link with the target audience.

Hollister's "Having fun eating for the whole summer" campaign took place in three key phases, coordinated by Datawords:

  1. To begin with, the teaser and awareness phase aimed to tell a creative story on the brand's social media platforms to engage fans and reinforce brand loyalty. We created the concept in Chinese and developed all the local content.
  2. Next, the launch of the influence campaign was supported by celebrities and Gen Z influencers selected by us, with photo shoots and video ads highlighting their support for the brand. We also organized pop-up store experiences, followed by activation campaigns on Tmall to create even more buzz.
  3. Finally, following the launch, we organized livestream sessions hosted by celebrities and influencers to spark conversations on social media and keep audiences engaged.

At the same time, we also focused on a seamless experience for customers, creating a mini Hollister program on WeChat that enabled an effortless transition from marketing communications to online sales.

The collaboration between the Datawords Group and Hollister has helped consolidate Hollister Co.'s reputation as a trend-setting brand and its leading position with its target audience in China. The posts and hashtags generated tens of millions of views on social media, testifying to the positive impact of our influencer campaign.

As a result, Hollister was able to successfully promote its exclusive clothing collection, generate more social interaction among China's young Generation Z and increase its online and offline sales.

A BRIEF

OVERVIEW

Hollister is an American clothing brand owned by Abercrombie & Fitch. Founded in 2000, the company offers casual, California lifestyle apparel aimed primarily at teens and young adults. Hollister has a distinctive aesthetic, with an iconic visual identity featuring a seagull with outstretched wings, reflecting the laid-back vibe of California beaches.

Hollister has grown rapidly since its creation, and now has stores all over the world, in North America, Europe and Asia. It has also adapted to developments in e-commerce and established a strong digital presence, particularly through its website and social media platforms.

THE

CHALLENGE

Hollister faced major challenges in the Chinese market. In a country dominated by fast-fashion brands, trendy influencers and new-generation fashionistas, Hollister found it hard to stand out. The young people of China's Generation Z were turning to other brands, both domestic and international, which were similar in terms of price and clothing categories.

Yet, recognizing the growing purchasing power of China's Generation Z and their focus on personalization, Hollister understood that it was crucial to re-establish its brand relevance with this key audience by adapting content. The brand needed an innovative approach to generate social buzz and boost the brand's online sales in China. This is how Datawords and its e-PR & Influence agency, Switching-Time, came into play.

OUR

RESPONSE

With the aim of reaffirming Hollister as a fashionable brand among young people in China, we developed an integrated communications strategy, taking existing global elements and adapting them to Chinese cultural specificities. We therefore developed an influencer campaign that focused on three strategic areas: acquiring and retaining Generation Z consumers, increasing brand awareness and loyalty, and boosting sales and revenues.

As part of this strategy, Hollister has launched a campaign on the website Tmall, with a clothing collection focusing on Chinese food products aimed at young audiences. The brand designed original designs featuring popular dishes on their T-shirts, such as hotpot, bubble tea and xiaolongbao, creating a strong cultural link with the target audience.

Hollister's "Having fun eating for the whole summer" campaign took place in three key phases, coordinated by Datawords:

  1. To begin with, the teaser and awareness phase aimed to tell a creative story on the brand's social media platforms to engage fans and reinforce brand loyalty. We created the concept in Chinese and developed all the local content.
  2. Next, the launch of the influence campaign was supported by celebrities and Gen Z influencers selected by us, with photo shoots and video ads highlighting their support for the brand. We also organized pop-up store experiences, followed by activation campaigns on Tmall to create even more buzz.
  3. Finally, following the launch, we organized livestream sessions hosted by celebrities and influencers to spark conversations on social media and keep audiences engaged.

At the same time, we also focused on a seamless experience for customers, creating a mini Hollister program on WeChat that enabled an effortless transition from marketing communications to online sales.

THE

RESULTS

The collaboration between the Datawords Group and Hollister has helped consolidate Hollister Co.'s reputation as a trend-setting brand and its leading position with its target audience in China. The posts and hashtags generated tens of millions of views on social media, testifying to the positive impact of our influencer campaign.

As a result, Hollister was able to successfully promote its exclusive clothing collection, generate more social interaction among China's young Generation Z and increase its online and offline sales.

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