Is Gap Inc. bringing back the micro-influencer?
The apparel retailer on Wednesday launched a creator affiliate and advocacy platform for Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta to burnish their cultural influence.
For now, the program is open to U.S.-based creators 18 years or older, with no less than 1,000 followers on a single platform, though there are plans to expand internationally. There is a centralized hub for all Gap Inc. brands, with “early access to new releases, product seeding, and exclusive promos, in addition to content collaboration opportunities and the power for creators and their content to be amplified across paid, social, and brand-owned channels.” Those chosen could earn commission or access to product gifting campaigns, per the corporate’s press release.
Gap Inc. said this is an element of what it calls its “Fashiontainment” approach, exemplified by its “Better in Denim” campaign featuring Katseye, which the corporate said garnered greater than 600 million views and eight billion impressions in a single month. The company also said it’s meant to create community. In a press release, Damon Berger, who leads digital engagement at Gap Inc., said the program “emphasizes scaled community advocacy and authentic brand engagement.”
“By balancing creator convenience and empowerment with wealthy brand storytelling, this new program will position us to construct closer relationships with creators, amplify their content across all our channels, and leverage data-driven insights to deliver greater impact at scale,” he said.
In that sense, it’s a return of what was once called micro-influencers, based on Jessica Ramírez, co-founder and managing director of The Consumer Collective.
“We have not heard of something like this in an extended time, and it’s to not say it’s a nasty idea,” she said by phone. “You have the ability machine in these massive campaigns which have gone viral and have been implausible. This is a reinforcement. When it’s someone who’s appeared to you that’s talking a couple of product, it is a trust layer they’re adding.”
The program has the potential to appeal to consumers proof against contrived, AI-created marketing, Ramírez said. Consumers are questioning AI influencer-based campaigns partly because they don’t trust them and since “all the things’s beginning to sound the identical.”
“People are looking for just actual proof that it’s human,” she said. “I believe we are going to see more of that from the patron. It comes all the way down to that trust. It’s that final stretch in that sale that is useful. To an extent, this does help combat that issue.”
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