I created an influencer marketing campaign throughout a course during my Integrated Marketing Communications master's program.

1. IMC693A
KaitlynLopez
Influencer Campaign

2. Project
Overview
 Utilizing influencers,Aerie will work to promote a new
campaign based on mental health awareness
 This campaign will fall under the #AerieREAL initiative
 Partnering with the NationalAlliance on Mental Illness
(NAMI), the brand will have access to resources concerning
the importance of mental health
 Gen Z women will be the primary target audience

3. Company
Summary
 American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) was founded in 1977
 Aerie, the sister brand to American Eagle, was founded in
2006
 AEO currently holds 2.5% of market share in the lingerie,
bridal, and swimwear industry
 It is estimated that Aerie will earn over $482 million in
revenue in 2019
 Aerie is known for its inclusivity and body-positive
messaging to young women around the world

4. THE BRAND

5.  Aerie is a women’s retailer that sells
undergarments, casual apparel,
swimwear, and accessories
 The brand features inclusive size
offerings
 Bras are available in over 40 sizes
 Apparel and swimwear are available in
sizes XXS to XXL and in a variety of
lengths
Product Description

6. Consumer
Profile
 Aerie’s primary target audience are women ages 15-25
 This market falls into the Gen Z demographic
 The typicalAerie customer is a girl enrolled in high school or
college
 She is easy-going and passionate about her interests and hobbies
 She may be slender or curvy, short or tall and has a variety of
characteristics that make her unique

7. GenZ Facts
 Most diverse generation
 25% of Gen Z’ers are Hispanic
 14% of Gen Z’ers areAfrican
American
 63% prefer to see real people in
advertisements
 74% of time is spent online
 Annual U.S. purchasing power is
$44 billion

8. GenZ Behaviors
 Prefer to shop at a physical store
 Complete research and pre-
shopping on devices
 Looking for a in-store experience
 Instagram and Snapchat have
strong influence purchase
behaviors
 Price is the biggest factor that can
affect a buying decision

9. Key
Competitors
 Holds 28.1% market share in
the bridal, lingerie, and
swimwear industry
 PINK targets the same
audience as Aerie
 Utilizes influencer marketing
 Sizes XS-XL
 Similar marketing initiatives
to promote girl power and
body positivity
 PINK GRL PWR Project
 Founded by Rhianna
 Uses diverse models for
marketing efforts
 Celebrates confidence and
inclusivity
 Affordable price
 Sizes XS-3XL
 Recently accused of
deceptive marketing and
violation of consumer
protection rules

10. Current
Situation
 Since 2014, Aerie has been committed to using real women as models for
its products
 #AerieREAL promotes health and wellness, self-love, and body
confidence
 Over the last several years, the brand has brought on role models to
promote the #AerieREAL campaign
 These strong women come from a variety of backgrounds and bring
a personal purpose to the initiative
 Some of the role models includeAly Raisman, Iskra Lawrence, Lana
Condor, Ali Stroker, and Keiana Cavé
 The #AerieREALChange Initiative launched in 2020 to reward young
women across the country
 20 Aerie customers will receive a $20,000 grant to impact their
communities and be featured alongsideAerie role models
 Customers submit an online application and video to showcase how
they are creating change in body positivity, the environment,
women’s empowerment, education, and more

11. New Initiative
 Aerie has been vocal about health and
wellness, as well as self-love
 Mental health is a recent topic of discussion
and has a large impact on the lives of
young people
 By starting a conversation about the
importance of mental health, Aerie can
help reduce the stigma around the subject
 Gen Z has higher rates of anxiety,
depression, and suicide than other
generations
 Gen Z is lonelier than ever before and least
likely to report very good or excellent
mental health compared to other
generations

12. THECAMPAIGN

13. Influencer
Campaign
Overview
 A mix of mid-level and macro influencers will produce
social media content to raise awareness about the
#AerieREALMe campaign
 Influencers will wear Aerie apparel and share a message
about mental health, as well as include a unique website
link for followers to learn more about the campaign
 Using #AerieREALMe, influencers will encourage followers
to share their own experience about mental health
 For every #AerieREALMe hashtag used, $1 will be donated
to NAMI to support mental health initiatives

14. Campaign
Goals
 To raise awareness about the #AerieREAL mental health
initiative and spread the message of self-love
 Encourage young women to participate in the
#AerieREALMe hashtag by sharing their personal stories
surrounding mental health
 Raise $50,000 to donate to NAMI

15. Campaign
Objectives
 Increase awareness around the #AerieREAL mental health
campaign by 25% within the first three months
 Increase usage of #AerieREALMe by consumers by 30%
within the first three months
 Increase click through rates on influencer links by 15%
within the first three months
 Have five influencers promote the campaign within the first
month on a variety of social media platforms

16. Call toAction
 Influencers will encourage followers to use #AerieREALMe
and share a story related to mental health
 Influencers will encourage followers to visit the website
through their unique link to learn more about the campaign

17. INFLUENCER
EXAMPLES

18. Mid-Level
Influencer:
Christina
Wolfgram
@itsthecwolf
57.7K followers
1.9K followers
161.4K followers
2.88K subscribers
 Christina is a comedian, writer, and director
who has been open about her mental
health struggles
 Christina would be a great fit for Aerie
because of her bubbly attitude, positive
posts, and mental health advocacy
 Christina has expertise in creating social
media content and speaking on mental
health initiatives

19. Influencer Handle Rationale Top Platforms
Rosey Blair @roseybeemee Plus-size fashion, travel, and lifestyle blogger with
a positive attitude and encourages body positivity : 78.4K followers
: 39.9K followers
Jess Keys @jesskeys_ and
@thegoldengirlblog
Lifestyle blogger who showcases her perfectly
imperfect self
: 75.3K followers
: 10M+ monthly
viewers
Jordan McCrary @juicesandberries Self-care blogger who writes about wellness and
being your true self
: 30.6K followers
: 18.9K
subscribers
HattieGladwell @hattiegladwell Journalist who writes about mental health and
shares personal stories
: 37.7K followers
: 26.1K followers
ChristinaWolfgram @itsthecwolf Comedian, writer, and director who has been open
about her mental health struggles
: 161.4K
followers
: 57.7K followers
Mid-Level Influencer Recommendations (25K-100K Followers)

20. Macro
Influencer:
Nicole Modic
@kalejunkie
 Nicole is a lifestyle and wellness blogger
who also has a law degree
 From sharing healthy recipes and her
mental health, she is a strong proponent of
living your best life
 Nicole has previously worked with large
brands and is an up and coming influencer
147K followers
42.6K monthly viewers
1K followers
www.kalejunkie.com

21. Influencer Handle Rationale Top Platforms
Phyllicia Bonnanno @yogi_goddess Co-founder of Sisters ofYoga, a global wellness
collective. She promotes a healthy living lifestyle
and girl power attitude
: 104K followers
: Sisters ofYoga
Nicole Modic @kalejunkie Lifestyle and wellness blogger who shares tips
about mental health
: 147K followers
: 42.6K monthly
viewers
Lisa Hayim MS, RD @thewellnecessities Nutritionist and exercise expert who is open about
her body image image insecurities and promotes
body positivity
: 106K followers
: 888K
subscribers
Jera Foster @jera.bean Full-time lifestyle influencer who has written
about her psychologist and living with anxiety
: 159K followers
: 952 followers
Chelsea Krost @chelseakrost Millennial spokesperson who encourages
followers to keep going through tough times with
motivational posts
: 161.4K
followers
: 24.5K followers
Macro Influencer Recommendations (100K-1M Followers)

22. Example Post
 Each post will include
#AerieREALMe, @aerie,
#aeriepartner and
#aerieambassador
 The post will encourage
followers to use
#AerieREALMe
 The post will feature
language to inform followers
about the donation
component of the campaign
 The post will direct followers
to click the link in the bio to
learn more about the
campaign

23. MEASUREMENT

24. Vanity Metrics
Likes
One of the most basic
ways of tracking a
campaign
The influencer should
keep track of likes on all
sponsored posts to
measure success
Comments
Track how many
comments were on each
post
Note comments that
stick out
Followers
Gives the brand an idea
of how many people the
influencer will reach
Note how many followers
have been gained since
the start of campaign

25. Actionable
Metrics
Engagement
Rate
Track the amount of
“likes, reactions,
shares, views, [and]
comments”
These numbers will
track campaign
success
Return on
Investment
Ensure that the
influencer is worth the
amount of money
Divide the total cost
by total number of
engagements
Conversion
The number of actions
taken by followers
The amount of unique
link clicks will show if
the influencer has
been successful
Amount ofTags
and Hashtags
The influencer will
encourage followers to
use #AerieREALMe
and tag Aerie in posts
This will track if
followers participated
In the call-to-action

26. Tool:
Meltwater
• Public relations efforts
• Track campaign awareness for Aerie
• Generate analytics
• Reach
• Website traffic
• Return on investment
• Share of voice
• Social media reports
• Generate analytics for Aerie and
influencers
• Vanity metrics
• Actionable metrics

27. THE RESULT

28. CampaignOutcome
 The campaign was a success
 After eight months, Aerie raised
$15,000 to donate to NAMI
 50 influencers participated in the
campaign
 Over 200 pieces of influencer
content was created

29. Insights and
Analysis
 #AerieREALMe was used over 15,000 times on social media
 Influencers earned over 200,000 unique engagements on
their #AerieREALMe posts
 Aerie received over 25,000 unique visits to the campaign
website
 Eight media outlets, includingTeenVogue and theToday
Show, reported on the campaign
 Meltwater analytics
 Positive audience sentiment
 3% increase in share of voice
 15% increase in brand awareness

30. Aerie. (n.d.). Aerie Instagram. Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/aerie/
Aerie. (2020, January 23). Aerie Introduces Eight New #AerieREAL Role Models To Inspire You To Make 2020 The Year Of Change. Retrieved January 26, 2020,
from https://www.aeo-inc.com/2020/01/23/aerie-introduces-eight-new-aeriereal-role-models-to-inspire-you-to-make-2020-the-year-of-change/
Aerie. (n.d.). Aerie Sizes. Retrieved January 17, 2020, from https://www.ae.com/us/en/x/aerie/featured/aerie-sizes?menu=cat4840006
American Eagle Outfitters. (n.d.). About AEO. Retrieved January 17, 2020, from https://www.aeo-inc.com/about-aeo/.
Bedford, E. (2019, October 4). Factors influencing Gen Z consumers' purchases in the United States as of 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2020,
from https://www-statista-com.www.libproxy.wvu.edu/statistics/1043577/influencing-factors-on-gen-z-purchases-us/
Bethune. (2019, January). Gen Z more likely to report mental health concerns. Retrieved March 3, 2020, from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/01/gen-z
Cheng, A. (2019, March 8). American Eagle Puts Its Best Foot Forward With Gen Z, Unveiling A Sneaker Resale Shop. Retrieved January 26, 2020,
from https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2019/03/08/american-eagle-urban-necessities/#153295273876
Clement, J. (2019, September 17). Where Generation Z consumers have shopped in the past six months in the United States as of August 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2020,
from https://www-statista-com.www.libproxy.wvu.edu/statistics/977782/shopping-channels-used-by-generation-z-us/
Fry, R. and Parker, K. (2018, November 15). Early Benchmarks Show ‘Post-Millennials’ on Track to Be Most Diverse, Best-Educated Generation Yet. Retrieved January 26, 2020,
from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2018/11/15/early-benchmarks-show-post-millennials-on-track-to-be-most-diverse-best-educated-generation-yet/
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from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-act-be/201912/how-address-the-mental-health-crisis-in-generation-z
Hanbury, M. 2020, February 12. Rihanna's inclusive underwear brand is being accused of 'deceptive marketing' and luring shoppers into paying hefty monthly fees. Retrieved March 2, 2020,
from https://www.businessinsider.com/rihanna-savage-x-fenty-accused-of-deceptive-marketing-2020-2
Meltwater. (n.d.). Products. Retrieved February 14, 2020, from https://www.meltwater.com/products/pr
O’Connor, C. (2019, August). Lingerie, Bridal & Swimwear Stores in the US. Retrieved January 31, 2020,
from https://my-ibisworld-com.www.libproxy.wvu.edu/us/en/industry/44819/about
Savage X Fenty. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved January 31, 2020, from https://www.savagex.com/aboutus
The Economist. (2019, February 27). Generation Z is stressed, depressed and exam-obsessed. Retrieved March 3, 2020,
from https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/02/27/generation-z-is-stressed-depressed-and-exam-obsessed
Victoria’s Secret PINK. (2019, February 5). Victoria's Secret PINK Launches First-Ever "PINK GRL PWR PROJECT". Retrieved February 1, 2020,
from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/victorias-secret-pink-launches-first-ever-pink-grl-pwr-project-300790220.html
West Virginia University. (n.d.). Week 5 Lesson: Influencer Art + Science. Retrieved February 14, 2020,
from https://ecampus.wvu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_139213_1&content_id=_6292465_1&framesetWrapped=true
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