Lucky Brand deals offbeat challenges with Instagram contest

Brief:

Lucky Brand is urging Instagram users to post pictures of themselves doing a daily challenge while in quarantine for a chance to win prizes. The denim and lifestyle brand's #WinFromHome contest is offering rewards like gift cards, promo codes and charitable donations on a player's behalf, per an announcement shared with sister publication Mobile Marketer.
Each day during the challenge, Lucky will post a retro-themed playing card to its Instagram account showing an offbeat activity to perform, such as "power squat your pet," "become a plant daddy," "paint your dog's toenails" or "master blanket fort architecture." Entrants can take a picture of themselves completing any combination of the challenges to enter.
Lucky is asking people to post the pictures to their Instagram accounts with the #WinFromHome hashtag and @LuckyBrand handle. It will round up the best pictures and re-post them on its account while giving people a chance to win prizes, per its announcement.

Insight:

Lucky Brand's offbeat Instagram challenge aims to connect with homebound and on-the-go consumers as many areas start to ease lockdowns put in place during the coronavirus pandemic. The brand can grow its Instagram following from a current level of 203,000 as people post pictures of themselves performing the wacky challenges, helping to extend the publicity of the campaign. The effort matches Lucky's eclectic mix of fashion and lifestyle shots with humorous posts, which a recent study suggests are appealing to Gen Z consumers during the pandemic.

The campaign is another sign of how Lucky has adapted its marketing to connect with consumers who are stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic. The company on March 17 announced it would temporarily close all stores, and it's unclear when those stores will be able to reopen. It began featuring employees in its social media posts instead of sleek models in highly produced photo shoots, and created a Lucky Together hub of tutorials to help customers adjust to working from home, Glossy reported.

Lucky also offered more stylish non-medical face masks for free in online orders, Dujour reported. These efforts help to position Lucky as a brand that cares about its employees and customers, a message that resonates with many consumers during the health crisis, according to a survey by the 4A's.

Lucky Brand is among the apparel brands that have launched social media challenges to spark some chatter online. Teen retailer American Eagle Outfitters last year launched its first campaign on TikTok with a branded hashtag challenge that urged people to post videos of themselves wearing its clothing to a featured soundtrack. Ralph Lauren dedicated a new TikTok campaign to coincide with the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament, and sportswear brand Saucony debuted "Run for Good" to raise money for charity while getting Instagram users to participate in an athletic challenge that aligns with the brand's values.

For a fashion and lifestyle brand like Lucky, it's important to remain visible even as sales of apparel plunge. Clothing sales dropped over 50% in March from a year earlier, according to a Census Bureau report, and April is likely to post an even steeper decline as the first full month of lockdowns in many areas. Recovery will be a complex process of reopening stores, implementing safety measures for employees and shoppers and ramping up marketing activity to help drive consumer demand. It's most critical that stores be open by the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons, though it's still too early to tell what exactly the recovery will look like.