The Annual CMO Spend Survey Research 2020: Part 1
Daily Insights
Lands’ End’s Lucky Slogan
By: Alizah Asif Farooqi | Apr 06, 2021
In addition to excitement, consumers actually have a lot to be fearful about when it comes to the return of normalcy post-pandemic. Introverts can’t imagine interacting with people on a regular basis. Homebodies are horrified at the thought of actually having to leave the house everyday. But there’s one fear that binds just about everybody: having to put on pants.
After falling 14.7% between March 2020 and April 2020, retail sales climbed 17.7% between April 2020 and May 2020, according to Gartner’s Digital IQ Index: Specialty Retail. For retailer Lands’ End, which coincidentally decided to go with the slogan “let’s get comfy,” in January of last year, online sales grew nearly 8%. But it’s not all luck. The brand, which has been around since 1963, has been touting the benefits of items like elastic waist pants for quite some time, making their new slogan all the more authentic and amplified in line with the influx of comfort-craving consumers. As such, when planning their post-pandemic strategy, marketers need to pay special attention to how consumer behaviors, preferences, and attitudes have altered and perhaps more importantly, decipher which of these changes is a temporary by-product of the pandemic and which ones are here to stay. People may want to take a break from tie-dying everything in sight, but they’ll never stop spoiling the pets they adopted during the pandemic, for example.
Though Lands’ End was once a digital leader, it’s gotten lost over the past few years. After its simple, yet effective new slogan caught consumer attention, the brand was able to build a strong conversation with its new audience. Now the label has a chance at a second life—without having to modify its original mission of comfort first. Going forward, Lands’ End plans to continue building off its earlier momentum while also investing in digital tools including the launch of its own marketplace where other brands can list their products. Essentially, instead of potentially getting lost in a sea of products on a larger e-commerce site, brands could potentially stand out more where there are fewer listings. Going forward, the brand may also want to consider tapping TikTok, which boasts a reputation (for better or worse) for putting substance over status when it comes to shopping.
For many consumers, Lands’ End’s lucky slogan may have dusted off memories of paging through its catalog with a parent for that year’s school uniforms. For marketers, the slogan is a lesson that while timing plays a large role in reaching consumers, amplified brand authenticity is what builds the connection.
See more: Retail , Lands' End