We’re rolling into Chicago atop a double-decker, neon-wrapped bus as international DJ and producer Marshmello is spinning his latest hits with chart-toppers Khalid and Selena Gomez, all while hordes of teenage and college-age girls are bouncing up and down, phones front and center. This is Victoria Secret’s PINK Nation.
Originally launched in 2009, PINK Nation is a mobile app by Victoria’s Secret PINK, the millennial-targeted brand created by Victoria’s Secret in 2002 to expand to a younger consumer base. With competitors like American Eagle Outfitters’ Aerie, Hollister, and Abercrombie & Fitch, PINK sets itself apart with in-your-face branding and an expansive collection of products with strategically-placed PINK logos on everything from hoodies to bras to accessories and beauty.
Although, in the absence of mall-goers and the rise of youth-focused leisure and lingerie brands, the Victoria’s Secret offshoot is on a constant hunt for ways to keep their consumer engaged. A problem faced by most traditionally brick and mortar retailers.
Enter the PINK Nation.
With over 2 million active monthly users on the platform, like many retailer apps, PINK Nation is a contemporary take on a traditional loyalty program. Gone are the membership cards and email signups. Instead, PINK’s updated app takes on the millennial market through a revamped mobile design offering interactive in-app games, relevant video and photo content, and exclusive giveaways. Plus, PINK Nation members are given access to be the first to shop new styles, sent invitations to members-only events and, of course, included in coveted Insta-worthy pop-up experiences. To incentivize downloads, new members receive a personalized offer of their choice when downloading and an additional offer each month.
What the over-the-top launch in Chicago proved is the PINK customer is not only interested in the brand’s lifestyle pillars—youthful, cheeky fun paired with a giveaway or two—they are devouring it. The sidewalks outside the bus route swelled with an overflowing mass of twenty-somethings as if it were Beyoncé they turned out to see. And the PINK Nation members are loyal—the overwhelming crowd was decked out in any PINK gear they could get their hands on, with many of them dragging their boyfriends, girlfriends, and even children along for the ride—although the entire scene was slightly surprising in the face of steadily declining sales for the Victoria’s Secret brand.
But Victoria’s Secret PINK didn’t selfishly decide what their brand needed. They concocted a plan that gave their consumer exactly what they wanted—social media gold with the right touch of branding—and served it to them on a platter. Mini-pink glazed donuts from Chicago-favorite Stan’s Donuts & Coffee were given away along with deep-dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s wrapped in Instagram-friendly PINK pizza boxes. The Nation was treated to a free concert at the iconic Navy Pier, no less. The sheer social media amplification of the event likely had their brand echoing through the feeds of every millenial in Chicago that day.
It was a spectacle, indeed, but one that was meant to be just that. An exercise in digital-age theatrics designed to demand the attention of young consumers. An event so flamboyant it couldn’t be missed, an outcome which could be construed as both good and bad—for every PINK-wearing girl singing at the top of her lungs to a DJ in a giant marshmallow mask atop a hot pink bus, there was a restaurant goer with their ears plugged.
In the landscape of fast fashion, PINK is targeting its millennial consumers in any way it knows how, and the growth and relevance of this new app are yet to be seen, but if it’s anything like their launch in Chicago, they might have just gotten it right this time.
