There was a time, not so long ago, when a retailer looking for a cultural moment might simply run an ad during a popular television program and call it a day. Those days, it seems, are over.
Gap, the San Francisco-based chain that has spent the last several years searching for ways to recapture the cultural relevance it enjoyed in the era of khaki swing-dance commercials, is making what the company calls its first major push into entertainment. The vehicle is JYT, a boy band whose members are apparently well-known enough to their intended audience that no further explanation is required (though some of us in the over-25 demographic may need to take their word for it).
The partnership, announced this week, will include a multi-episode documentary series following the group behind the scenes, a national tour of live performances at Gap stores in shopping malls, and the usual array of social media content and what the industry has taken to calling "fan activations." The company did not disclose the financial terms of the arrangement.
The move reflects a broader shift among apparel retailers, who have increasingly concluded that traditional advertising alone cannot generate the sort of engagement that young consumers now expect. Gap, which is owned by Gap Inc., has cycled through several creative directions in recent years as it has sought to define its position in a market that has grown considerably more crowded since the chain's 1990s heyday.
Whether a docuseries and mall appearances will prove more effective than previous efforts remains to be seen. But for a brand that built its identity on being where the culture was, the logic is clear enough: if the culture now lives on phones and in parasocial relationships with pop stars, then that is where Gap intends to be.
The mall tour begins next month.
Original story published in adweek.com: "Gap Makes First Big Entertainment Play With Boy Band JYT"