• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, November 6, 2024

Fighting back from a few difficult years, eBay is launching its first new brand campaign in a decade. The new effort is themed "Things.People.Love," and aims to remind consumers that the ecommerce brand has long been a source for hard-to-find items, from auto parts to vintage fashion to rare collectibles.

Social media personalities, including Emma Chamberlain, Nicole McLaughlin and Maeve Reilly, star in the ads. Joan, which added global responsibilities for the company to U.S. assignments earlier this year, is the agency, creating ads that appear on TV, out-of-home, digital and social.

“'Things.People.Love' is the latest major marker in eBay’s commitment to modernize the brand and engage our customers in a way that truly resonates,” said Emily O’Hara, eBay's global head of brand, in the announcement. “With this global brand campaign, we are reigniting the connection with eBay as the home for passions, setting the stage for our continued evolution as a global leader in e-commerce.”

“Over the past few years, we’ve been focusing our marketing efforts on category segments – like 2023’s “Keep Your Ride – or – Die Alive,” which illustrated how eBay Motors helps enthusiasts preserve the cars they love," she tells Retail Insider via email. "Things.People.Love. is the first campaign to bring together all of eBay’s enthusiast categories to show how eBay is the home of all passions, and that whatever you love, you can find it on eBay.”

The campaign launch comes just as the San Jose, California-based company posted solid financial results, indicating that after a bumpy few years, eBay’s investments in the platform are beginning to pay off.

Third-quarter revenue rose 3% to $2.6 billion, while the gross value of merchandise sold added 2% to $18.3 billion -- better than expected.

Net income advanced 8% to $588 million, from $545 million in the year-ago period.

And the company’s fledgling retail ad network is also showing promise, up 14% in the period.

“We continue to view management's tech-led reimagination strategy as appropriate,” writes Sean Dunlop, who follows the ecommerce company for Morningstar. He says eBay “is innovating more quickly, rolling out AI-enabled tools for nonprofessional sellers to simplify the listing process.”

Dunlop also notes that eBay anticipates sales growth in the high single digits in 2025.

“After a few difficult years, we believe that eBay is well positioned to enjoy a medium-term inflection point in growth and profitability as consumer discretionary goods spending recovers.”