Feeding Creativity: Brands That Inspire Us || American Eagle

Diedrich RPM Marketing
Have you ever spotted a brand that makes you stop your scroll?
Social media is saturated with a lot of content, and most of it is the same. old. stuff.  

Feeding Creativity is dedicated to those brands whose feeds (get it?) step outside of the box. It’s all about innovative, artsy, and refreshing brands that ultimately inspire us here at DRPM.

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american eagle outfitters

 

American Eagle Outfitters

This month, I decided instead of choosing a brand that I love, I would use a brand that one of my co-workers loved.  Nathan, our all-knowing overseer of all things digital, was quick to jump in and offer up American Eagle as his pick!

 

Hold up.

Don’t click away just yet.

I know what you’re thinking.

 

If you’re anything like me, you grew up, or at least lived in, the era of the Hollister, Abercrombie & American Eagle explosion. If that’s true, you know that their clothing always seemed to fit small, and maybe enhanced a sense of pretentiousness for those who wore it. It was expensive clothing. It was clothing for the “cool kids”.

 

This brand positioning worked at the time because those retailers created a brand image focused on what people want to look like; their buyers were those who wanted to ‘be like the cool kids’.

 

Fast forward to today: perceptions of beauty have started to fundamentally change in our culture. American Eagle has clearly embraced this change and that’s evident in their marketing and social media.

Has it worked?

Yesterday [August 29, 2018] American Eagle Outfitters came out with its quarterly earnings and exceeded analyst expectations on sales. – Fast Company

 

So what is AE doing to stay relevant and modern in our ever-changing culture that is ultimately paying off for their bottom line?

 

The AE Expression: Individuality. Freedom. Difference.

 

With young people at its focus, AE has totally changed the retail game.  Gone are the days of using paper-thin models and perfect-looking photographs. AE instead has taken a very real approach to their marketing and embraced the current rise of self-love, choosing a more inclusive and welcoming feel.

“American Eagle has been trying to understand the behavior and worldview of young people for decades now. All of this research–from focus groups, customer surveys, and in-store observations–has paid off, allowing the brand to reflect the values of today’s young people.”

 

“…according to new data shared with Fast Company by analytics firm Sprout Social, both American Eagle and its sister brand Aerie have an overwhelmingly positive sentiment on social media, at 83% and 68% respectively.”

 


#aerieREAL

A great real-time example of this powerful marketing technique is #aerieREAL, an Aerie campaign focused on girl power, body positivity and empowering women to “let the real you shine” – they even use untouched photos!

AE x ME

Another example of AE’s brilliant marketing is their AExME campaign:

This is our collaboration with you—share your story, share your style, share your creativity with #AExME and #AEJeans.

 


 

What isn’t to love about the direction that American Eagle has taken? It’s inclusive, welcoming, modern, artsy, and strives to empower men and women to embrace their unique characteristics.

“Take what we make and make it yours.” – a true expression of individuality and the overall bold direction of the American Eagle Outfitters brand.

 

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I told you not to click away, and I am hoping you stuck with me.  Writing this blog after Nathan’s recommendation has totally changed my outlook on American Eagle and I love their new brand message.

 

And that’s what this month’s blog is about.

Yes, their photos are gorgeous.

Their timeline flows with similar colors and seasonal messages.

They even have cute photos of dogs on their website.

 

But when it comes to branding, something more important than style is message…in fact it is INFINITELY more important.  

 

We at DRPM LOVE the message behind American Eagle’s branding and hope that if you haven’t checked it out – you will now..


If you have an account you love that I should check out send me a message! I would LOVE to hear about them!

Until next time ✌🏻