H&M is one of the most recognised fashion retailers in the world with a massive online presence and over 250 stores in the UK alone.
In 2020, the retail landscape was experiencing significant upheaval. H&M were not only facing an increasingly cluttered market, but also a period of global uncertainty. The Covid-19 pandemic meant that people weren’t shopping in-store and brands needed to be reactive to the constantly changing climate.
With several exciting new collections launching, H&M wanted to win the attention of a younger audience; specifically 16-21 year old females.
Having never targeted a Gen Z audience before, they came to Fanbytes to create a social and influencer marketing strategy that would help them unlock and build continuous brand connection over a 6-month period.
We recommended Snapchat and Instagram as platforms that would get us the highest reach and engagement amongst 16-21 year old females. From there, we leaned into our award-winning Bytesights tool and knowledge of the influencer landscape to develop an always-on campaign featuring the most relevant and creative talent.
Our influencers created engaging Instagram Reels/Posts and Snapchat Stories showcasing the collections in their own unique way. Many also used IGTV videos which worked extremely well as a longer form content that could provide a lot more information and inspiration around the collections.
Each collection was different, from the streetwear collaboration with Kangol, to classic Knitwear, and even a Halloween themed collection featuring Billie Eilish merchandise. We wanted to ensure the influencer content reflected the style of the collection to make it super memorable.
The campaign over-delivered at every phase in terms of views, reach and engagement.
We achieved a massive 1.8million views (an +180% over delivery), as well as 151K likes and a 17.3% engagement rate (almost 10% higher than the industry average). These generated a huge amount of ‘swipe ups’ to their website and contributed to the collections regularly selling out.
Through working with our recommended influencers who reflected a diverse range of races, socio-economic backgrounds and body types, H&M were also able to build credibility amongst a discerning and socially conscious Gen Z audience.
Most importantly, our always-on approach and 12-phase activations helped to keep H&M firmly in the conversation and front of mind with their desired Gen Z audience.