JCPenney Tries Another School 'Haul'

JCPenney continued its focus on teens this back-to-school season, again tapping into the latest trends in digital/mobile marketing and rolling out an exclusive product line to keep up the “cool” factor.The department-store chain partnered with Hearst Communication's Seventeen.com on a “Haul Nation” contest that continued the use of “haul” videos — shopper-made videos showcasing recent purchases — first utilized last year. (See “JCPenney Targets Style ...” in Related Articles.)Housed on the jcpTeen and Seventeen magazine Facebook pages, the contest awarded a grand-prize trip to New York complete with a tour of Seventeen's offices, a blog post on Seventeen.com or Kaboodle.com, a $100 store card and an iPad 2 tablet. Five runners-up received the store card and tablet. Shoppers entered from July 22 through Aug. 20 by uploading three- to five-minute videos, which were then judged by fans. A panel of fashion experts provided encouragement and advice throughout the contest.This year, the department-store chain set up “Haul Nation” stations in four malls in New York, Chicago, Miami and Orlando, FL, at which teens could make their videos immediately after shopping. Event staff wore T-shirts and distributed cards, both of which bore QR codes linking to the Haul Nation mobile website, according to Mobile Marketer. Print ads in teen fashion magazines also carried the codes.“Haul Nation allows us to use social media and in-mall events to connect with tech-savvy teens and remind them to dream big by leveraging a platform where anything is possible, which is the theme for our back-to-school advertising,” said interim chief marketing officer Bill Gentner in a media release. (See “Boylson Retires from JCP.”) Gentner was referring to the broad “Daydreamer” theme used on in-store signage and media ads developed by Momentum Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi New York and 360i. Signs, circular features, online ads, TV spots (see video below) and print ads depicted dream-inspired doodles that reveal the inner aspirations of teens. (Some advertising also plugged the newly introduced “Pennies from Heaven” program. See “JCPenney Now Collects ...”)The chain deployed more 2D bar codes — this time Microsoft Tags — in direct-mail ads linking to mobile coupons and specific product pages. Meanwhile, outdoor ads placed on billboards, bus shelters and subway-station locations in Manhattan carried Tags that delivered coupons for $10 to $30 off at JCPenney’s Manhattan store. The mobile landing page also listed current New York City events alongside a store locator.In stores, a Microsoft Tag appeared on stanchion signs targeting college-bound students. The code linked to a dorm shopping checklist and accessed the company’s online “Dorm Shop.”Additional in-store collateral was fueled by the “We make it affordable. You make it yours” tagline introduced last spring. (See “JCPenney Reinvents Itself.”) Wall signs, stanchion signs and rack headers carried messages such as “We make it hit the books. You make it rule the school” and “We make it smart. You make it cool.” Value messaging was also deployed with signs — as well as circular features and other ads — touting various “big deals” and price discounts.Rounding off the fashionable efforts, JCPenney introduced exclusive brand Stardoll via dedicated displays in 300 stores. The first collection’s candy-colored apparel and accessories for girls brings to life the fashions formerly only available virtually on Stardoll.com, an online community for girls that lets users create and dress avatars. A second collection targeted at Latina teens will debut in time for the holiday shopping season.The retailer again used rack headers to publicize Fishman & Tobin’s pledge to donate 5% of proceeds from the sale of Izod-brand school uniforms at JCPenney to schools. (See “JCPenney Targets Style … “) Online, the chain added French Toast school uniforms to its selection.

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