• by Aaron Baar , September 10, 2011

"We have such a loyal and passionate customer base that they really want to reach out to non-Stein Mart customers and get them to join the fold," Glori Katz, Stein Mart's senior vice president of marketing and advertising, tells Marketing Daily. "It's using customers in a way that we haven't used them before."

In its first campaign since hiring ArnoldNYC as its creative advertising agency, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based retailer adopts a mosaic format through the integrated effort, which includes digital, social media, print and radio. A television commercial that begins running on Monday shows real Stein Mart customers (who were recruited through Facebook and other sources) talking about their favorite merchandise.

The spot ends by encouraging people to upload their own "Love at First Find" videos with the hopes of creating a full-fledged online community of customers who have found something to love at Stein Mart, Katz says. The mosaic motif is echoed on the company's revamped Web site and will be used in print and other advertising, she says.

"It's very different-looking," Katz says. "As we tap into videos that customers submit, we hope it will catch on and take on a life of its own."

The company is also hoping to foster further sharing by equipping every store with a digital camera and encouraging sales associates to ask customers, "What have you found today?," she says. Targeted at women between 35 and 55 years old, the overall effect, Katz says, is to broaden the discount retailer's demographic.

"We're anxious to attract a new and younger customer, and we feel confident this approach can do that," Katz says.