← Behind the Numbers: an EMARKETER Podcast
Behind the Numbers: an EMARKETER Podcast
Swatch x Audemars Piguet’s “Royal Pop” Collab Chaos, Miller's Soccer Ball Cooler, and More | Reimagining Retail
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- [00:01]
A
Hi, everyone. Today is Wednesday, May 27th. Welcome to eMarketers weekly retail show, Reimagining Retail, where we talk about how retail collides with every part of our lives. I'm your host, Susie Dava Kenyon. And on today's episode, we're back with our unofficial monthly retailer awards. Yes, the Umrahs, not to be confused with Umras. Let's see who stood out this month. Joining me, we have podcast regulars and retail experts Sky Canavas in Texas. Hey, Sky.
- [00:33]
B
Hey, Susie. I'm excited for today.
- [00:35]
A
Me too. We have Rachel Wolf a few blocks from me. Hey, Rachel.
- [00:39]
C
Hello. Good to be back.
- [00:40]
A
Nice to have you. And Ariel Fager a few more blocks away from us. Hey, Arielle.
- [00:45]
D
Hey. So happy to be here.
- [00:47]
A
I'm so happy that you're all here. You guys have some great selections. And so as a reminder of how this works, each month we're handing out awards to the retailers we think really nailed it in a few key areas. So we've got three categories. Most impactful Campaign, Best in Real Life initiative, and the Greatest under the Radar move. Ariel, Rachel, and Sky each brought a nominee for May, and I get to pick the winner based on how convincing their case is. And if we all remember from last month, I can be swayed. So bring your A game on. Let's get started. Most impactful campaign. The marketing idea that broke through the noise resonated memorable and performance driving. And the nominees are starting with you, Rachel.
- [01:30]
C
Okay, so my nominee is Heineken Fan Volunteers. And essentially it's a campaign that encourages World cup fans to take advantage of companies volunteer time off programs to do some good, but also catch the World cup match of their choice. And I like this campaign for a few reasons. One, it's kind of tongue in cheek. It, you know, kind of subtly references the fact that a lot of people do spend their work days streaming soccer matches when the World cup is on. But it also encourages people to be active in their communities and find connection with other people and, you know, it's actionable. The campaign links to a site where people can find volunteer opportunities in their areas. So I feel like it just hits a lot of different notes in a very effective way.
- [02:14]
A
Guys, I don't know if you heard, literally, if you go to the Heineken website, after you prove that you're old enough to drink, it takes you to a sign up sheet. It's really quite something, right? And now they're gathering data about you as well. It's fascinating the way they did it. I also Think like you, Rachel. Volunteering is important. This is like a community thing. Everybody is talking about World cup no matter where you are in the U.S. canada, Mexico, around the world. And so this is like a fun way to do something and a different way for a beverage brand to stand out. That's not an official sponsor. But is it really a thing? Are people actually going to be volunteering? I mean the images I saw were people picking up garbage in like parks. Are people really going to be doing that?
- [02:56]
C
I guess, you know, that's the question with any purpose driven campaign, especially from an alcohol brand. But I do think that in terms of having a slightly different take on World cup messaging, I think for that reason it kind of cuts through the noise in that way.
- [03:10]
D
So Rachel, you said they can sign up to do some volunteering. Like what is the. Is this just like purely out of the goodness of their hearts? Are they getting something? Is there a sweepstakes? I don't know. I'm just like trying to understand kind of to Susie's point of like what would motivate people to do this other than, you know.
- [03:32]
C
Yeah, well, so the way that they're framing it is that a lot of companies have these volunteer time off programs where you can essentially get the day off work to volunteer.
- [03:43]
B
So watch the World cup to watch.
- [03:46]
C
Exactly. That's the part. Yeah. So I think that's kind of the motivator or you know, the thing that gets people interested in seeing what, you know, garbage picking opportunities there are in their neighborhood.
- [03:58]
A
I mean they did find like an insight. Right. People are going to be watching the game regardless, so you might as well tie it to something good. And most people don't realize and most companies don't have it. That's the other sort. Sort of like is it really going to work? Don't have volunteer time off, but some of the larger ones do. So like is it a tie in moment? I don't know. I kind of love it. Sky, what's yours?
- [04:19]
B
Mine is very different take but I think one that's going to have a big impact and this was she and buying Everlane this month. And it's. It's been such a weird May because the month started off with GameStop wanting to buy ebay and that didn't really work out. But he and buying Everlane is happening and it's, it's one of those that almost sounds like an April Fool's joke at the beginning. The fast fashion ultra fast fashion powerhouse buying what was a, a really sustainability focused brand. And there's there's been a lot of, I think, a bit of hand wringing over that. And ultimately Everlane's financial position was just very precarious. It needed to be taken over. But I think it's really illuminating of what Shein wants to become and how the Chinese E commerce disruptors that have really shaken up E commerce, how they're evolving more and more. So Shein has for some time been trying to build a real brand marketplace, which I think has been proceeding in fits and starts. So I think maybe now it has more of an opportunity in taking over brands. And I'm sure it's been looking at the success of Quints, which is kind of unbranded, quiet luxury at a very low cost. And Everlasting Everlane, by acquiring it could provide an entry point or a door into a similar market.
- [05:47]
C
I thought this was really interesting. My one question is, you know, can Everlane, the brand, survive this acquisition? Because, you know, to what extent will people still want to buy Everlane now that they know that it's owned by Shein?
- [05:59]
A
I mean, it's fascinating because it is literally the collision of multiple different types of narratives. Right. It's luxury and extremely low cost. And then it's sustainable, good for the world, versus fast fashion, which is typically not so well billed as good for the world. So it's true. What's in it for Everlane, except for staying alive, I guess.
- [06:21]
B
Yeah. And. And for Shein, not so much in the US but certainly in Europe. It's under a lot of pressure for its sustainability practices and environmental impact. So I'm wondering if it's going to try to take the brand there and use it as a way to support its business in Europe, which has been thriving regardless of how sustainable or unsustain sustainable its business practices have been. But it has tried over the years to be more agreeable to European requirements. It has manufacturing facilities in the area, so it's not sourcing all of its goods that are sold in Europe from China. But, you know, it still has come under a lot of scrutiny from the top.
- [07:05]
A
For me, this was less about a marketing campaign. It was more like an acquisition that went viral that is in every newspaper now that you can imagine. So it's like so much earned media. It's crazy. Arielle, what's yours? So mine.
- [07:18]
D
We all know that for some reason, I am a huge champion of Claire's. I guess that childhood nostalgia never leaves. But. So my pick for this month is Claire's summer campaign, which can be read in a few different ways. It's called a girl SMR at Claire's or you can have, you know, a SMR summer. It's a girl summer. It's very, you know, lots of ways to read it, but essentially it's all rooted around kind of sensory, like tactile things, the idea of activating all of the five senses. And it's aimed towards Gen Alpha. And we know younger generations are increasingly wanting to kind of get away from, you know, do a digital detox, get away from technology and really be out in the world more. And this campaign really caters to that idea of touching and smelling and all of those things. And also ASMR is a huge trend, not just among Gen Alphas, but many generations. There is also an in store component which I think is interesting where consumers can do like ASMR recordings, giving them the chance to create their own content. So I just think it's really fun. Claire's is needs to capture this younger audience. And what I remember about Claire's is it felt very age appropriate when I used to go there as a child or you know, as like, I would say maybe like a tween. And so this to me feels like they're really aligning their product with the audience that they're looking to capture.
- [08:57]
B
Yeah, it seems like they've shifted their target audience a bit from like the Gen Z or teen to accepting that it's now Gen Alpha and kids. And as a mom of a Gen Alpha, I've seen that for years. I think my daughter started getting into Claire's when she was like five or six. And so I think they're accepting that and they've had such huge success with the neato viral craze recently. And of course that sensory. And I love this smr asmr. And my daughter just made an ASMR recording the other day and I was like, where did you learn this? I guess it's the thing now that the, the kids are doing.
- [09:40]
D
Wow, that's crazy that I love that.
- [09:43]
A
I, I think for me what this, this represents is that they've understood, you know, they went through bankruptcy and so they understood the brand matters, the experience and the, the cluttered stores were not part of that. What mattered and that they're shifting the store experience and then they're adding marketing to it to make sure everybody knows about it and comes and experience. I love it.
- [10:07]
B
They might be changing. You go to the stores to play and it used to be piercings, which I think maybe some of these kids might be still maybe too young for or to go to a store to do.
- [10:17]
D
Yeah, they're, they're changing what it is that's going to draw consumers in. And I think it's really smart.
- [10:23]
A
It's fairly very skillfully handled. They're chasing trends in a way that is equivalent to who they're, they're going after as their new customer. So the winner of the most impactful campaign is. Claire's is the winner. I thought you guys might talk to me about Dr. Pepper's microdrama. They're returning limited edition Dr. Pepper Creamy Coconut beverage. So they're leaning into this trend of micro dramas and dropping four mini episodes starting May 15. To talk about this, there's a lot of limited, limited things happening. So with that Best in Real Life initiative, the in real life move that got people off their screens and into stores, creating an experience worth checking out and hopefully not one that was too hard to be at the store. And the nominees are Sky. I'm starting with you, Starbucks.
- [11:20]
B
And Miffy. So Miffy is a beloved Dutch cartoon book character who's been around since 1955, but I think has really gained mainstream popularity among young kids, Gen Z and Gen Alpha as well. My daughter is a fan. Over. Over the last couple of years I've really been seeing Miffy popping up everywhere, including on social media. So I think this is part of Starbucks's bigger turnaround plan to become more culturally relevant and use a lot of cultural levers to bring fans to stores. So it's brought just launched a Miffy merchandise collaboration which includes both cups, tumblers and stuffies. And they're available in store only unless you're a Starbucks reserve member. And then you can have access to an online store that includes other exclusive products such as a much larger Miffy plushie. So I think this is going to get people into stores because they want to check it out. It's also good timing for the summer. It's like graduation season as well. So I think these make good gifts for Mifey fans. And I put it in the much broader context of Starbucks big cultural transformation that it's working with creators. It's doing a lot of new initiatives, upgrading its stores, bringing in new flavors, things that are trending like coconut UBE and now butterfly pea flower is the new one. And I think we're starting to see results from that, that their, their store traffic is improving and also that they're recognizing that they have like that younger customer and that includes Gen Alpha, who I think will be drawn by the Miffy products. There is a kids bottle in there as well.
- [13:19]
A
It's interesting because we know the month of May was all about urgency, scarcity. That really does drive traffic. But it kind of gives me the holiday bear vibes where Starbucks didn't have enough cups, remember? And then that caused some some anxiety.
- [13:33]
B
I think they will have enough cups because I went and checked it out and I. There were no cups at the first store, but that may have been because they just didn't. And then there were plenty of cups at the second store.
- [13:43]
A
Oh my God. I went too.
- [13:45]
B
Yeah, because I wanted to get something for my daughter, but then I couldn't decide. So I'm gonna have to take her back to pick out what she would like for herself.
- [13:55]
A
It's definitely working and it'll probably drive some social posts too. All around.
- [14:00]
D
Really cute. I just googled cause I personally had never heard of Miffy before. And so I was like, let me look this up. Cute. Really adorable. And I'm looking at the Starbucks merch right now and yeah, it's very spring, very summer. It looks really fun.
- [14:17]
A
It does. And it's like taps into that cadalting trend that we're seeing a lot happening. Arielle, what's your nominee?
- [14:24]
D
So my nominee is Smoothie Kings de Dupe program. We talk about dupes a lot, I think on this podcast and also just at Emarketer in general. This is. I always think that programs where you can trade in a dupe of something for a new product is a really smart way to get people to show up. And so a Smoothie King did just that. They said, you know, bring in a receipt from another smoothie purchase and trade them in for something else. And I was like, yeah, that, that'll work. You know, you get two smoothies for the price of one. And it's just, I think a great way to get people to try new things, try new flavors. They also are claiming that they coined the word smoothie, which created some discussion amongst my team as to do we believe it or not. Jury is out. But yeah, I thought that it's really fun.
- [15:25]
C
I'm just curious about the concept of a smoothie dupe. Like, are there smoothies that people associate with one particular brand over the other? Like is.
- [15:35]
D
I mean, I think there, there might be. I know Erewhon, definitely.
- [15:39]
B
Yes. I went to Erewhon when I was in LA recently and I did buy a luxury smoothie and I think it was worth the price of admission. And I don't know how to dupe it because I just to buy the ingredients, I'd probably have to spend $200, and then I'd have too much of a lot of stuff that I don't want to consume every day. Yeah. So if they can do an Erewhon smoothie dupe.
- [16:04]
D
Yeah, there we go. Right.
- [16:05]
B
And I think I. I should look for my receipt and take it to Smoothie.
- [16:09]
A
Now, I do think it's beyond. It's like free sampling. Right. It's like you come with whoever's receipt, no matter what the company is, that is a smoothie. And I don't know that it's an exact dupe of that specific smoothie. It's just the idea of driving traffic, getting people to try this brand smoothie and see if they love it. And if they do, maybe they'll keep coming back. It's apparently tied. This campaign was tied to a menu refresh and like a store revamp. So it's like a clever way of getting everybody into the store and learning more.
- [16:40]
B
And, well, if they're making that claim that we coined the term smoothie, ours are the only real smoothies and everything else you've had.
- [16:46]
D
Or do you go, right, bring in
- [16:48]
B
your receipt and you get the free one? Because when you started describing this, Ariel, I was kind of scratching my head what a smoothie dupe is and how this would work and how you would trade in. But no, the 2 for 1 deal seems. Seems like a good draw.
- [17:04]
A
I love it. Rachel, what's yours? Another one I want to love, but I don't know.
- [17:10]
C
So I will say before I go too deep into this, it's one of those that works better on paper than it did in concept. So this is the Swatch Audemars Piguet collaboration, which broke retail in some ways. So, as I said, on paper, this seemed like a dream collaboration. Right. Audemars Piguet is a very fancy watch brand with a lot of interest, and this was a way to make it a little bit more accessible. Everything was priced at $400 to $420. And, you know, because of the collectability of this particular collection, people kind of predictably went crazy. And I think Swatch just didn't anticipate or didn't properly prepare for the level of they saw. But people were lining up at stores days before the collaboration was even launched. There were fist fights, there was pepper spray and tear gas in some stores because of all the commotion. But ultimately, I think it tells you how strong the demand was for that particular product. So it could have been great if Swatch had executed it properly.
- [18:18]
A
I mean it was so messy. And then I was like, I didn't realize that they were part of the same umbrella company. They're not. Audemars Piguet is not part of the Swatch group. So then just didn't even understand what the tie up would have meant for them given that they are all about like, it's not your watch, it's a hand me down heritage piece. Right. I. The whole thing was fascinating. I grew up with swatches, I had lots of pop swatches, so I was very excited about it. And then I saw it in the local news and I was like, oh my God, can it be more messy than this? I don't know.
- [18:52]
D
It's messy but like it calls to mind like the, the Black Fridays of yore, you know, where like people were, they were brawling and, and fighting for the products and like.
- [19:05]
B
And there's a reason we don't do that anymore because nobody wants to shop that way.
- [19:10]
A
I know, but like did it. Is it gonna tarnish the brands though? Like, I don't know. This is a will will remain to be seen. It is definitely fit the bill of something that is so unexpected that everybody is not only getting off their couch, but they're getting off their three days early before it even drops. So that was definitely a good one.
- [19:31]
D
Yeah, I vote for Rachel. I don't think I'm allowed to say
- [19:36]
C
that you want more brawls and shopping,
- [19:38]
B
but I think a collaboration like this is a one off that gets people to stores for that one time drop. But they're not going to do it again. Even if this is a big sellout success. This is really kind of a repeat of a collaboration. The first Swatch luxury collaboration was four years ago with their Omega brand. So it's something that the extreme scarcity of it is what drives a lot of the demand. But then that in turn isn't going to necessarily get people to stores for the experience like the Klairs or I think like what Starbucks is trying to do more broadly with its collaborations and emphasis on cultural relevancy.
- [20:21]
A
Well, that was a nice try to plug for yours, but the winner is because I think it's fascinating that Smoothie King, so it happens to be Arielle again. But I think it's fascinating that who thinks that they are an original maker of something like a yogurt drink, can actually drive traffic and have like a360 campaign with this whole dupe thing and like plug into cultural relevant. I mean they, they hit it on so many different lenses or levels that I thought it was very clever. I originally, three days ago, would have picked Swatch, except for it is so messy and I'm pretty sure their brands are all tarnished. And for all the things that we've already said about that, I just don't know that it was a big win.
- [21:01]
E
Sorry, Rachel. I tried, I tried to swing the vote your way.
- [21:04]
C
You know, I appreciate, I appreciate your stomping. For me.
- [21:08]
A
Definitely not an under the radar move. So let's switch to award number three, greatest under the radar move. That smart play that didn't really make any headlines, but quietly move the business forward. And the nominees are. Ariel.
- [21:22]
E
So I love beer. That is not something that is surprising to most people who know me. And it does seem like there's so much momentum around the World cup, obviously. So I picked Miller Light, which is doing this thing which is like they're creating a soccer ball that holds 12 beers. I just think it's so fun and it's kitschy. It's, it's, you know. Do you need a soccer ball that holds 12 beers? No. But do you want one? Kind of. And so I just think it's a really fun tie in with the World Cup. You know, everyone wants to drink a cold beer. Not everyone. A lot of people want to drink a cold beer while watching a sporting event. So to me, it's just like a really. It's a no brainer. That's just a really fun thing.
- [22:16]
C
Are we talking like cans of beer or glasses? Because
- [22:21]
A
up to 12 you need to go. If you have not googled this, you need to Google it. It is the most gimmicky thing I've ever seen. But tap into every cultural thing you can think of, from tailgating to like hosting and barbecues to like, having a cold beer. It is the most ridiculous collectible I have seen in a long time.
- [22:41]
C
Did I read that cost less than the official game ball from FIFA so you could get.
- [22:48]
D
Oh, that could be true. It does cost 20 bucks. 75 because.
- [22:55]
C
So I think it would be great if instead of buying the official ball, everybody just bought the Miller Lite one. I feel like it would be a better souvenir.
- [23:03]
D
I think so.
- [23:03]
A
Definitely ridiculous. Also PS they are not a World cup sponsor. So it's like another really good way of getting into the conversation without actually having to pay all those sponsorship dollars. I think the whole thing is very neat. My family is big time into a World cup right now. So I feel like everywhere I go, I was in Kansas City. It's everywhere. There's World cup fever everywhere. Rachel, who's your nominee?
- [23:31]
C
So mine I think is definitely very much under the radar. So my nominee is Best Buy Launching Consultation experiences in IKEA stores. And we saw the reverse of this. I think it was last year when Best introduced sort of these Ikea shop in shops in their stores. But this is a continuation of that strategy and I think it's really interesting to see these two complementary retailers look for ways to boost sales with one another, which is especially important now given that both of the categories that they operate in are in serious trouble now.
- [24:04]
D
This is such an interesting smart partnership move. And again, like a long term partnership, this is not just like a one and done thing where they're like, okay, we had Ikea showroom in the Best Buy and then we're done. It's really showing an investment in both of the brands, which I think is the mark of a good partnership. And yeah, they're so adjacent without being overlapping and I think that's really cool.
- [24:32]
B
I wonder how this works in practice. Will the shoppers be able to buy this stuff from Best Buy? Are they just getting advice when they're at Ikea?
- [24:42]
C
So they do have Best Buy associates at these IKEA stores that can place orders on people's behalf.
- [24:48]
B
Because I think there's a risk that, you know, you go to Ikea and you're buying your stuff and you're taking it with you, but if you're not taking your Best Buy stuff with you, maybe you're going to look for a better price somewhere else or wait till those recommendations go on sale.
- [25:03]
A
I mean that's possible. I think that could happen regardless of what store you're in. What I find interesting, in addition to the progression, it's that it's hard to know what the right fridge sizes and like there's a lot of sort of anxiety around these big ticket items. And to have someone who can do buy in the store and we'll ship it to your house, which is what happens at most big, you know, electro electric purchases, it gets shipped to your house anyways. I kind of feel like consumers are conditioned for that. The I didn't think about the comp shopping piece though, so I guess you could do that anyways.
- [25:39]
C
Yeah, and I think it makes sense for it to be a kind of one stop shop experience. Right. Instead of having people split those purchases into multiple trips, to have it be consolidated in one experience and also to have the expertise of a Best Buy associate who can help you along.
- [25:53]
B
But don't people still want to like see the refrigerator or the major appliance that they're buying in? Kitchen.
- [26:00]
C
They do have a limited selection. The floor model, yeah. Which is pretty much the same, I would say these days, like if you go into a Home Depot or any of these stores, most of what they have is not in the store itself.
- [26:13]
A
Also, the Ikea kitchens have fake appliances in them, so you can sort of see what it looks like. So it might just be an extension of that. I have to keep us moving. Sky, what's your nominee?
- [26:24]
B
So my choice is Target and they actually were in the news with quite a few announcements this month, including like revamping their supply chain and a new trend spotting tool. But my pick is their new creator program, which is now in two tiers. So one is for the established creators, the ones that are making money from being influencers. And that's in partnership with ltk, which is a popular social shopping platform. But they've added another tier to expand their creator program to include ordinary consumers and brand fans. And this one is called Club Target. And it fits in really well with one of our trends and predictions for 2026, which is around how more retailers are bringing creators directly into their folds. And part of this is a response to AI, AI generated content and the need to have authentic human voices and more credibility and also understanding how consumers are looking for social validation from humans. So we've seen a number of other retailers, retailers start to deploy this strategy, like Sephora. Best Buy is another one. And even this year since we published our trends, I think Dick's Sporting Goods is one that has expanded its creator program to include more ordinary shoppers. So I think a company like Target knows that there are already a lot of people posting about it on TikTok, making videos, making content. Come shop with me at Target. So they want to really build a stronger relationship with these creators. And I think it's also a really savvy retail media play because as brands are deciding whether to put their money into social or retail media, especially the emerging retail media networks, you know, these retailers can say, hey, not only can you have sponsored listings on our website, but we can get you authentic voices that are producing content on social channels as well.
- [28:35]
C
What I found really interesting about this is the way that they're gamifying the creator experience. Like they have these weekly challenges to really encourage people to get in the habit of posting their Target hauls and so on. So I think that's a really interesting move.
- [28:49]
A
It's definitely, I think Everybody realizes you have to capture the creators, the micro influencers, the macro influencers, and they've really found the two different lanes. But I also wonder if there's a little bit of fatigue in the haul videos and the like, unboxing boxing. I don't know. We'll see. It is definitely. They definitely didn't just tweak their model, they pivoted completely. And for that, I think that deserves a lot of credit. You guys brought on some really good ones. This was a very difficult one, but I am picking Best Buy in Ikea because I think there's something to be said about very quiet, not flashy. Though I do love a good gimmick and that it's a prolonged relationship that is reducing customer friction and helping both retailers. So with that, the winners are for the most impactful campaign, Claire's, for Best in Real Life Initiatives, Movie King, and for the greatest under the radar move, Best Buy. That's all the time we have for today. Thank you, Ariel.
- [29:51]
D
Thank you for having me.
- [29:52]
A
Thank you, Rachel.
- [29:53]
C
Thanks. This was fun.
- [29:55]
A
And thank you, Sky.
- [29:56]
B
Thanks, Susie.
- [29:57]
A
And thank you to the team who edits the podcast and of course, our listeners. Please leave a rating or review and remember to subscribe. I'll see you next Wednesday for more reimagining retail. And we'll be back with the Umrahs at the end of June with guest host Arielle. And on Friday, you can join Marcus for another episode of behind the Numbers.