In the July 3rd Primer piece, I asked the question “IS TIKTOK ADVERTISING EFFECTIVE?” with the general thesis that Hollister (an Abercrombie sub-brand) had a fantastic ad campaign that reached 3 billion views in a matter of days. 

“How does Hollister, a brand very far past its prime, get three billion (yes, with a B) views in a single week? They did it by understanding their audience and delivering upon the primary trends of 2020. Add TikTok, the D’Amelio Sisters, Bill Nye, and a viral dance with a song that’s actually catchy and you get the most highly viewed brand campaign in the history of TikTok. The question is, will it move the product?”
-Chris Colbert, July 3rd Primer

The answer is a resounding yes. In a year where clothing sales are down ~67%, and with a company that was near the lowest stock value they’ve had in 10 years, they executed properly and it paid off. As Robin Hood’s Snacks Daily pointed out, Hollister is now bigger than Abercrombie. 

“Sub-brands are secret growth sauce… These “secret” subs are pulling in more $$$ and performing better than their parents. Sub-brands help companies tap into new customer segments — think Victoria’s Secret PINK (casual/teen-friendly) vs. full-on sexy VS. Companies can apply learnings from their subs to help the parent”
-RobinHood Snacks Daily

I could go on about their execution, but finding the sweet spot in the market, culture, timing, talent, AND the creative is the real success. ANF Corporate clearly saw the positive signals and leaned in by partnering with the D’Amelio sisters for their own lines and curations to continue this amazing upward trend.

The bottom line is that when we posted that Primer, Abercrombie was at $10 per share and today it is hovering above $21 per share. That’s a growth of over $650,000,000 in market cap for ANF. The value in understanding a rapidly evolving online culture has never been higher. 

Is TikTok Advertising Effective? 

If you know how to do it right, respect the surrounding culture, cast the right influencers, and execute creative well, it’s absolutely incredibly effective.

Need some help with that?

Let us know, just email me here to start the conversation.