{"id":16297,"date":"2025-11-26T08:51:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T08:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/why-american-eagle-tapped-martha-stewart-to-extend-its-reach-beyond-gen-z\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T08:51:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T08:51:08","slug":"why-american-eagle-tapped-martha-stewart-to-extend-its-reach-beyond-gen-z","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/why-american-eagle-tapped-martha-stewart-to-extend-its-reach-beyond-gen-z\/","title":{"rendered":"Why American Eagle tapped Martha Stewart to extend its reach beyond Gen Z"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/online-workshops-list\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-496\" src=\"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/RETAIL-ONLINE-TRAINING-728-X-90.png\" alt=\"Retail Online Training\" width=\"729\" height=\"91\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/RETAIL-ONLINE-TRAINING-728-X-90.png 729w, https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/RETAIL-ONLINE-TRAINING-728-X-90-300x37.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 729px) 100vw, 729px\" \/><\/a><\/p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.retaildive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"\"\/><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">6 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/text-to-speech.divecdn.com\/newspost\/806381\/2025-11-25_10.01.14\/american-eagle-martha-stewart-beyond-gen-z-holiday.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>American Eagle on Tuesday announced a partnership with celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart for the latest chapter of its holiday campaign, \u201cGive Great Jeans.\u201d The tie-up is part of the retailer\u2019s efforts to position denim as a universal gift while expanding beyond its typical Gen Z focus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartha Stewart Does the Holidays in American Eagle\u201d sees the apparel brand embrace a multigenerational audience of both gift givers and recipients. That goal is achieved through the presence of Stewart, who is easily recognized by older and younger generations alike, explained Chief Marketing Officer Craig Brommers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGen Z\u2019s watching her on TikTok, mom is watching her on Instagram, grandma is watching her on \u2018The Today Show,\u2019\u201d said Brommers. \u201cThere\u2019s not a place that people aren\u2019t experiencing and loving Martha.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The campaign was informed by an E-Poll study which found that Stewart\u2019s name and image awareness among Gen Z grew by 33% between 2020 to 2024 and is now on par with millennials. Stewart has become something of a marketing mainstay in recent years, working with brands ranging from Pure Leaf to Miracle-Gro\u00a0and Tito\u2019s vodka.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Welcome to Martha\u2019s Denim Season\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v_RdM6mzpUk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>At the center of American Eagle\u2019s campaign is a 30-second spot, \u201cMartha Wraps the Gifts in AE,\u201d that features a denim-themed set, backdrop and wardrobe, complete with presents wrapped in the material by Stewart. Additional content will showcase the star\u2019s hosting abilities while continuing to focus on American Eagle\u2019s core denim product. The creative is intended to provide an uplifting moment to consumers, many of whom are contending with economic pressures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerican Eagle consumers\u2019 sentiment is that they want some joy to diffuse stress,\u201d Brommers said.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\">Something for everyone<\/h3>\n<p>The latest chapter of the retailer\u2019s holiday campaign spans digital and social media, including Stewart and American Eagle\u2019s owned channels. Creator partnerships will support the campaign across platforms including Instagram and TikTok. The campaign will also air on connected TV, a channel the brand hopes will help it reach a more diverse audience. CTV has also become a greater focus for connecting with Gen Z.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCTV has been part of our media mix over the course of the year, and we\u2019ll continue to look at how it performs for Gen Z,\u201d Brommers said. \u201cI think there are moments of togetherness that Gen Z is craving right now. They don\u2019t always want to watch everything on their phone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>American Eagle\u2019s \u201cGive Great Jeans\u201d campaign kicked off in late September with \u201cAE Holiday House,\u201d a content series that appeared on social media, in-store and digital channels and brought together a multigenerational cast, all of whom are seen wearing holiday outfits from the brand. The next chapter of the campaign with Stewart continues the push to resonate with a more diverse audience, a strategy Brommers said the brand typically reserves for the Q4 shopping period.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are Gen Z\u2019s No. 1 retailer who sells jeans \u2014 we are very proud of that,\u201d Brommers said. \u201cIt is at this very moment in the holiday season when we broaden the customer base, and our jeans are for everyone everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A multigenerational focus has been adopted by other marketers this holiday season, including Gap and Sam\u2019s Club. The multiple chapters of \u201cGive Great Jeans\u201d align with an always-on content strategy that has become increasingly common among marketers. American Eagle\u2019s goal is to stay front-of-mind for consumers for the duration of the holidays, according to Brommers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like when you\u2019re a retail CMO now, you\u2019re basically programming a streaming series,\u201d Brommers said. \u201cYou have main characters, and when people tune in, they know the general plot line. But it\u2019s important to bring in guest stars, it\u2019s important to have a plot twist, it\u2019s important to create a sense of urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"pullquote\">\n<hr\/>\n<div class=\"pq-hr-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"pq-quote\">\u201cBoring is the enemy of great marketing &#8230; I think that doing things that surprise people and cut through the noise are the campaigns that are connecting with people.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"pq-headshot\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"pq-headshot-img-hidden\" src=\"https:\/\/d12v9rtnomnebu.cloudfront.net\/diveimages\/corporate_site\/teampage\/square_profiles\/placeholder-200.png\"\/><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-speaker-details\">\n<p class=\"pq-speaker\">Craig Brommers<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-speaker-title\">CMO, American Eagle<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr\/>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cGive Great Jeans\u201d follows American Eagle\u2019s tie-up with Sydney Sweeney earlier this year for \u201cSydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.\u201d The fall campaign made headlines for spurring a wave of backlash, with some critics arguing that the ads promoted the long-disproven theory of eugenics. The brand around the same time teamed with NFL star Travis Kelce\u2019s Tru Kolors\u00a0brand. Together, the celebrity-led marketing campaigns generated \u201cunprecedented\u201d new customer acquisition for the brand, with customer counts up 700,000 over the summer period, Brommers said during a Q2 earnings call, an indication of how staying the course despite blowback can pay off.<\/p>\n<section class=\"storylines-carousel-wrapper hide-small show-large\" id=\"desktop-carousel\"\/>\n<p>\u201cThe American Eagle Sydney Sweeney campaign was intended to be a brand and business reset, and it has,\u201d said Brommers on the earnings call. \u201cTo be clear, that consumer acquisition is coming from every single county in the U.S. This momentum is national, and it is pervasive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Stewart possesses a similar level of star power \u2014 and the overarching \u201cGive Great Jeans\u201d campaign could be interpreted by some as an extension of the brand\u2019s fall effort \u2014 American Eagle\u2019s latest push is intended to stand on its own, Brommers said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerican Eagle always stands for great jeans, we have great jeans, and when you think about the past campaigns, it all ladders up to this idea that we have great jeans for everyone,\u201d Brommers said. \u201c\u2018Give Great Jeans\u2019 is a new and distinct chapter in that particular story.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the brand\u2019s goal of reaching a wider audience, American Eagle\u2019s partnership with Stewart is intended to surprise and delight its customers, a core principle within its marketing strategy and one Brommers recommends to other brands navigating this season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoring is the enemy of great marketing,\u201d Brommers said. \u201cWhen we think about recent campaigns, we\u2019ve taken big bets at big moments \u2026 and I think that doing things that surprise people and cut through the noise are the campaigns that are connecting with people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/online-workshops-list\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-496\" src=\"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/RETAIL-ONLINE-TRAINING-728-X-90.png\" alt=\"Retail Online Training\" width=\"729\" height=\"91\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/RETAIL-ONLINE-TRAINING-728-X-90.png 729w, https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/RETAIL-ONLINE-TRAINING-728-X-90-300x37.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 729px) 100vw, 729px\" \/><\/a><\/p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to the article 6 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. American Eagle on Tuesday announced a partnership [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16298,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}