Why Madewell shifted ad spend to TikTok despite bigger Instagram reach
Jortcore campaign taps influencers to promote jean shorts and sustainability.
ValVades
Despite a low follower count on TikTok, apparel retailer Madewell is investing heavily in the platform for its latest campaign. The brand opted to shift spend away from other social platforms creators prove to be a strong marketing tool and a good return on spend amid a looming recession.
Madewell has around 6,000 TikTok followers (compared to J. Crew’s 21,000, and Everlane’s 7,000), but boasts 1.4 million followers on Instagram. So why focus on TikTok? Because consumers told them to—Madewell tapped into customer insights through its Madewell group chat, a pool of around 5,000 volunteer customers who answer surveys and questions that help guide marketing, according to Derek Yarbrough, Madewell’s chief marketing officer.
Usually, the brand’s summer campaign had been a “cross-channel effort,” but spend this year was shifted to TikTok. “We are always evaluating and evolving our allocations,” Yarbrough said. “It's really about keeping the pulse of where our customers are.”
For Madewell, TikTok attracts the brand's core customers. According to data library DataReportal, 57% of TikTok users are female, roughly 43% of global TikTok users are between 18 and 24 years old, and 32% are between 25 and 34.
In the face of inflation, creators have proven to be a good return on investment. “Marketers have only so much media budget to spend and during a period of economic headwinds, budgets inevitably will get cut,” Mike Proulx, VP and research director at Forrester, wrote in an email. “This means that brands need to prioritize the channels that they’re investing in—those that are demonstrating effectiveness.”
To be more effective, Madewell partnered with influencer agency Movers+Shakers to hone in on several influencers, including LGBTQ influencer Avery Cyrus, the dancing Pitman Sisters, creator Nameless James, fashion influencer Drew Joiner and photographer Olivia Joan. In their videos, creators cut off the legs of Madewell jeans to turn them into shorts, putting the leftover denim in a bag for upcycling. The hashtag #jortcore has reached 52 million views, with Cyrus' TikTok hitting over 15 million views.
Madewell created the hashtag #Jortcore in an effort to promote jean shorts, or jorts, and show how to style them for the season. The goal is to engage with Gen Z and highlight sustainability by transforming pre-worn Madewell jeans.
The name #Jortcore taps into the idea of “core” fashion trends, which means focusing your style on a single aesthetic. Core fashion trends include #tenniscore, #balletcore, and #Barbiecore. These trends embrace a certain aesthetic, such as the skorts of tenniscore or the bright pinks of Barbiecore. Jortcore centers around outfits including jean shorts.
The campaign also focuses on another company value: sustainability. The legs of the jeans can be sent to Madewell to be upcycled, and the brand has a line of previously worn garments through Thredup, an online consignment and thrift shop. All scraps collected will be donated to Gee Bend Quilters to create patchwork pieces.
For now, the brand is still in the test and learn phase with regards to TikTok: “We’re hoping that the engagement is there, and then learn how customers are interacting.”
