• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, December 9, 2024

Kate Spade New York's holiday campaign 

As retailers barrel through the final stretch of the holiday season, specialty apparel companies are sharpening their marketing moves. Lululemon is increasing ad and marketing spending to focus on increasing brand awareness. J. Crew has hired Julia Collier, formerly at Skims, as the new chief marketing officer. And Kate Spade New York is rolling out a campaign with pop star Madison Beer for a musical holiday push.

Lululemon, in releasing third-quarter results, says the company is shifting marketing budgets to boost brand awareness. While the company’s sales rose 9% to $2.4 billion, with comparable sales increasing 4%, U.S. sales were flat.

The Vancouver-based company has vowed to rev those results with revamped product assortments beginning next quarter. And with unaided brand awareness of just 36% in the U.S., which Calvin McDonald, chief executive officer, says is low,  “that provides a significant opportunity for growth as we continue to open and optimize stores and launch new brand campaigns and activations,” he said in a conference call webcast for investors.

The company has historically kept marketing spending between 4.5% and 5% of sales. Now it says that will increase to 5.5%.

While McDonald expects new product launches to increase revenue per guest, additional marketing spending will support efforts up and down the funnel, from community events at the local level to broader brand-building campaigns.

J. Crew also has marketing on its mind, naming Julia Collier as CMO. She was the senior vice president of marketing at Skims, which she joined before the brand launch in 2019. She is credited with celebrity deals and spearheading high-profile brand partnerships with the NBA, WNBA and Team USA, and brands like Fendi, Swarovski, and Dolce & Gabbana.

The company, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2020, has been looking to make a comeback, with the Wall Street Journal recently reporting that J. Crew will have $3 billion in sales this year.

Kate Spade New York is also making news with a new campaign starring Grammy-nominated pop star Madison Beer. The effort focuses on holiday gifting between women friends, with a documentary approach called “You’re It, Girl.”