Though the return to school may feel like a distant whisper, marketers are already ramping up activity across the critical spending period. JanSport is amongst them, having recently launched the second iteration of its “Always With You” campaign targeting Gen Z following a successful first run that led to the backpack maker’s highest-grossing sales day in its 57-year history.
“Always With You” asserts JanSport’s status as a companion for college students, with them in hallways and classrooms and as they navigate on a regular basis moments. Strategized specifically for short-form platforms like TikTok and YouTube, the trouble follows last yr’s playbook by including a series of musical spots that mix the absurd, cringeworthy humor favored by Gen Z with relatable chaos in hopes of stopping them mid-scroll. Beyond back-to-school, the campaign is meant to transform JanSport from a nostalgic legacy brand to a modern-day staple.
“We doubled down on humor and emotional reference to Gen Z while refreshing our product line with the trends that we’re seeing across Gen Zalpha: Bows, coconuts, animal prints, more,” said Lindsay Read, JanSport’s head of selling. “We’re still that trusted and nostalgic brand, but we’re speaking much more directly within the language of our audience.”
Informed by research indicating that 78% of Gen Z is more likely to share humorous ads and 67% favor authentic content, JanSport’s 2024 campaign highlighted its backpacks because the sidekick to students, who featured in a wide range of spots while singing deeply specific, deadpan jingles about moments with their backpacks — from keeping them company in the toilet stall to providing comfort during a breakup.
This yr’s effort offers a unique perspective, this time featuring JanSport backpacks because the protagonist. The bags sing and dance in a handful of 15- and 30-second spots that follow them as they fall in love, “rot” without remorse and get packed stuffed with belongings. The effort was created without CGI or artificial intelligence — rejecting adland’s current fixation — and as a substitute utilizes handmade effects, puppetry and original songs written by music shop Mophonics and agency Party Land, which handled each this yr and last yr’s campaigns.
Driving results
The selection to leverage the identical strategy as last yr follows positive results, with JanSport having generated a 71% increase in purchase intent and 385% year-over-year boost in engagement inside its first month. On TikTok, the campaign helped JanSport achieve a 65% YoY boost in traffic and 24% increase in engagement rates, making the platform the brand’s top-performing social channel.
This yr’s campaign, which launched June 16, has already shown signs of growth over last yr’s effort, including longer view times, high interaction, positive sentiment and “super strong” engagement metrics, Read said. The brand can be seeing higher engagement rates on YouTube.
Spending amongst U.S. consumers this back-to-school season is anticipated to rise 3.3% yr over yr to over $33 billion, according to Coresight research. Over two-thirds of respondents to Coresight’s survey said inflation will limit their spending this yr. However, there was no signs of slowing for JanSport, Read said.
“We are seeing trends which might be beating our forecasts already this yr with traffic to our site, so we’re cautiously optimistic that we’re going to match the highest-grossing day that we achieved last yr this yr as well,” she said.
Modernizing a legacy
Though absurdity leads JanSport’s campaign, there’s also a concentrate on durability, the highest sentiment held for the brand, according to Read. Instead of pushing that message directly — and running the danger of losing consumers’ attention — “Always With You” focuses on emotions.
“Consumers are on the lookout for value without delay, and we deliver that through having a durable product that may span years,” Read said. “It’s probably not just in regards to the products we use, however it’s also about telling the story of it being a companion, a memory keeper and a continuing.”
While that story may already be understood by the older generations whose shoulders JanSport has adorned for many years, a broader purpose of “Always With You” is to modernize the brand for younger cohorts while still holding true to its origins. On that front, the marketer in May also kicked off a brand legacy campaign nodding to its roots in outdoor heritage. JanSport was founded in 1967 by three hikers who began the brand to avoid getting a job, Read explained.
“They were the beginning of being rebellious youth leaders, and ultimately, weaving youth culture through all the pieces we do is how that plays into what we’re doing today,” she said. “Youth cultural alignment is something that we’re all the time trying to keep our pulse on and stay ahead of, and that’s the homage to our three hippie founders from the ‘60s.”
To grow loyalty with Gen Z, JanSport prioritizes continuous consumer insights, disruption and studying what makes the cohort tick, Read continued. The executive also views platforms like TikTok as a content playground, not only a media channel, measuring success not only by views but additionally through other engagements like saves, shares and comments. With those metrics in mind — which Read bills as emotional currency — the brand hopes to develop into not only a practical selection for Gen Z, however the cool one as well.
“Our goal ultimately is to develop into a part of the cultural scroll,” she said. “When a backpack sings and someone comments, ‘I’ve watched this five times,’ or, ‘Put this song on Spotify,’ we predict of that as a win for winning the hearts of Gen Z.”
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