Journey to Brasil through the Marketing Magic of Macy’s

On May 16, Macy’s launched a company-wide marketing campaign paying tribute to one of the hottest countries on earth, Brasil.  The Macy’s tribute, with the tagline “Brasil: A Magical Journey” attempts to capture the essence of the captivating culture and colorful and unique fashion of Brasil (“Macy’s pays tribute,” 2012).  The Macy’s Brasil campaign unofficially began with the annual Macy’s Flower show held the last week in March and the first week in April featuring this year’s theme Brasil: Gardens in Paradise, but the true Brasil campaign did not officially kick off in full swing until May 16 (Macy’s Spotlights, 2012).  The Brasil campaign is a large-scale company-wide event that transcends several different marketing platforms.

The Macy’s Brasil campaign consists of “limited-edition capsule collections created by renowned Brazilian designers, Brazil-inspired fashion from other designers, including existing Macy’s brands, a fundraising program to benefit the Amazon rainforest, a series of lively in-store events, and an opportunity to win a trip to Brazil” (“Macy’s pays tribute,” 2012, para 1).  Not only is the customer exposed to fashion and home goods inspired by the country, but the campaign also generates excitement about Brasil as a country and gives customers a chance to donate to the rainforests of Brasil (“Macy’s pays tribute,” 2012). The Macy’s Brasil campaign is promoted heavily in the Macy’s brick-and-mortar stores with the merchandising execution of Brasil products in the front lines and featured in aisle ways and Brasil visuals in all store windows.

Beyond the stores, Macys.com has created Brasil shopping categories including “Journey to Brasil” categories and the “O Mercado, the Market at Macy’s” categories, which live in almost every family of business on the website (“Macy’s pays tribute,” 2012).  Macys.com also features a vanity URL, www.macys.com/Brasil, which takes customers to the Brasil Skava sitelet.  The sitelet features the women’s, men’s, home, and beauty categories, information about Brasil, information about the Give, Get, and Save the Rainforest campaign, a link to the Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein brand shop, a link to the interactive catalog (featuring videos, interviews, and travel tips), and a link to download the Macy’s Brasil app.  The Brasil campaign also includes heavy use of mobile marketing with the Brasil app available for download and the use of QR codes, which delivers fashion content to customers about the featured designers (“Macy’s pays tribute,” 2012).

Macy’s consistently markets itself as an economically friendly brand, but as the competition in the market increases, it must differentiate itself as fun and fashion forward.  This campaign capitalizes on Macy’s strengths, such as their exclusive brands, while doing it with a twist using the excitement of the highly talked about tourist destination, Brasil.  Macy’s knows that to maintain its success, it must appeal to the millennial generation, and this campaign is a perfect first pitch.

References:

Macy’s. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.macys.com

Macy’s pays tribute to Brazil with multifaceted campaign launching this week. (2012, May 15). The New York Times. Retrieved from http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/stocks/news/press_release.asp?docTag=201205151015BIZWIRE_USPRX____BW6296&feedID=600&press_symbol=105501

Macy’s spotlights the spirit of Brasil this spring. (2012, May 15). WND. Retrieved from http://www.wnd.com/markets/news/read/20516596/macy%E2%80%99s_spotlights_the_spirit_of_brasil_this_spring