American Eagleโค Outfitters Reports โ4%โค Loyaltyโค Boost Following Controversial Sydney sweeney,โ Travis Kelce Campaigns
American eagleโ Outfitters (AEO) saw a 4% increase in customer loyalty thisโ past quarter, a โคrise executives attribute to high-profile marketing campaigns featuring actress Sydney Sweeney adn NFL star Travis Kelce, despite initial criticism leveledโค at the Sweeney ads. The campaigns generated a โคcombinedโ 44 billion adโค impressions, according โto Jennifer โFoyle, presidentโฃ and executiveโค creative director for American โEagleโ and Aerie.
The Sydney Sweeney campaign, launched this summer, faced backlash from some who โaccused it of promoting eugenics and criticized its suggestive imagery.โฃ However, CMO Craig Brommers stated that the majority โขof consumers approved of the advertisement. Following the controversy, AEO partnered with Kelce โon a โขclothing line, further expanding its reach.
While the core Americanโ eagle brand benefited from the increased visibility – with sydney’s jeans โselling out in days and men’s apparel sales โขrising by a “mid single digit” – it’s AEO’s โคsub-brand, Aerie,โ that is experiencing more substantial growth. Aerieโ accounted for approximately 33% of American Eagle’s total revenue โขthis year,โ driven by popular items like sleepwear and leggings.
“Although it’s still โขearly days of our renewed โmarketing โstrategy, we know that โคhaving โthe right talent amplifies our brand and product at key moments,” Foyle said.She also pointed to the brand’s current campaign with Marthaโ Stewart as an example of its focus on โขbuilding brand awareness, emphasizing the need โขtoโฃ remain competitiveโข in the current market. “As a company, we’re leaning into advertising-we need to compete when we see what our competition is doing,” Foyle added.
