This year, brands placed a hyper focus on leveraging different channels to meet old and new consumers where they are.
For skin-care brand Peace Out Skincare, that looked like diversifying its marketing efforts to acquire consumers on and off platforms. Meanwhile, at Sephora, the Sephora Sounds initiative, which launched in January, leveraged the prominent relationship between music and beauty to maintain a relevant connection to Gen Z. And with travel returning in full force, brands like LVMH and Sol de Janiero took advantage of that opportunity.
At 62-year-old accessories retailer Claire’s, however, the team is developing a different approach to remain connected to customers. In November, Claire’s announced a partnership with content platform Sony Pictures Television – Kids, in an effort to build on its intellectual property initiative centered on its younger audience. And in December, Claire’s built on that content initiative through a new partnership with podcast and audio entertainment production studio Audio Up. Through both collaborations, Claire’s is following in the footsteps of brands like Nike which have begun producing original entertaining content with the aim of transforming into a lifestyle brand.
“We did a complete teardown of the brand and the business, and tried to understand [Gen Z and Alpha] and what was important to them,” said Kristin Patrick, evp and CMO at Claire’s. “One of the things our consumers told us is that they want more from the brand; they want to welcome Claire’s into their lives in different ways than we’re showing up today. They would love apparel to go along with the accessories, and they want us to decorate their dorms and bedrooms. We’ve now dabbled in both of those business categories.”
“[In addition] our consumers told us they want content from us, including stories and information about styling,” she said. “They also wanted to know about other kids in their generation. So with that, we set out to find ways to tell the stories of Claire’s and to deepen the connection with our consumers in their lives.”
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Claire’s launched its entertainment arm, Claire’s Content Studio, in 2021. But its recent investments signal that new content franchises and original IP and publishing will be greater focuses as the brand enters the new year.
Patrick declined to share how these recent initiatives have contributed to the brand’s bottom line. According to previous Glossy reporting in July, Claire’s last reported revenue was for the fiscal year ending January 29, 2022. The report revealed revenue of $1.4 billion, a 53% increase year-over-year.
Patrick spoke in-depth with Glossy about Claire’s entertainment and IP strategy, including what it takes for a brand to become a media company and what to expect from the Audio Up partnership.
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What does the future hold for Claire’s content partnerships with Sony and Audio Up?
“Because [Claire’s] has been around for so long, it’s bigger than just its retail doors. Claire’s is a special place in the consumer’s heart, so we’ll look to tell the stories that are important to the [young] generation. It could be anything from diving in a bit further on who Claire is to [breaking down] the creation of our own intellectual property. We went into Roblox and created a game called ShimmerVille, and there are characters within that game. So [we’ll be exploring ways] to bring them to life. And we’ll [be working to] build monetizable franchises around some of the contents we’ll be launching.
When we first started to understand how important we are in consumers’ lives, it gave us the ability to go into different businesses and to start to tell the stories of Claire’s and the generation. We are expanding on an already strong reach of Claire’s, and we’re meeting audiences through not only engaging content, but also through merchandise and unique experience. It’s all up to the consumer, in a way. You want to meet them where they are, and that’s what we have the opportunity to do as a brand in the next step in our progression.”
As Claire’s navigates this new IP space, how do you approach creating content that feels authentic to the brand and doesn’t come off as too sales-y?
“It’s a fine line that we will walk as a brand and a storyteller. We have to understand that every brand needs to understand the brand’s ethos and how far you can push the boundaries of storytelling, from a brand perspective. For Claire’s, there are a lot of different places that we can go, in terms of storytelling. … One of the ways is by diving into what this generation is interested in and giving them a say, in terms of what’s important to them. … A great example of that is when we turned the mic over to the consumer. … For a five-part episodic series called ‘Dear Claire,’ we brought kids together to talk about their lives, leveraging our platforms. We didn’t tell them what to talk about. They got together and they talked about everything from finding happiness to being social to [navigating] body dysmorphia to finding balance. That was eye-opening for us. Turning our mic over to this generation and letting them lead the conversation and even tell those stories is something that Claire’s can have authority in with the kids of this generation.”
What does it take for a brand to become a media company, and which brands should be leaning in?
“It’s not necessarily about becoming a media company; it’s about the way that brands need to think about communicating with their consumers. In terms of marketing, you’ve got six or seven social platforms that you need to be on, on an ongoing basis, and you want to create an always-on voice. So what does that look like? One of the things that businesses need to think about is having a content supply chain, just like you have your product supply chain. Brands are being put in the position of having to become publishers of content, whether they like it or not, and not every brand can do what Claire’s is doing or what Pepsi did or what Nike is doing with Waffle Iron Entertainment. The special brands that have a very clear vision of what they stand for [can go there], and your consumer has to let you go there, as well.”
