Gist : Back to school is the biggest retail sales period for kid’s apparel. With so many competitors clustered nearby, they needed something that would bring moms into their store. Once in the stores, also get moms to buy rather than just browse and compare.

Shoppers were starting to see all the kid’s clothing stores “as all the same”. Research aimed at parents showed that they were looking for a brand to care about their kids vs just sell to their kids—be more than just the transaction of selling clothes.

INSIGHT:

Most retail back to school campaign elements are direct mail, email and heavy in-store signage touting the sales % off or deals. Once in-store, attention span gets even smaller.

• We needed an idea that showed caring and prompted brand preference.

• Using mini-overalls, an icon for the brand, we created a DM piece not to tout a sale, but to offer a program.

• It drove parents in store to enter to win a 529 college savings plan. Since average age of child was 5, we didn’t have to put a large amount up for the winnings—and didn’t even talk about actual dollars.

• We could now offer many more winners and even featured some of them in later materials.

• We also made employees eligible as a sales incentive program.

Results:

• Surprise metric: 31% increase in sign up for email/DM lists

• Increased store traffic from previous year (anecdotal from key store managers poll)

• Sales steady in markets with brand new competitive stores

• Increase in sales for stores with no market changes (estimated 12%)