The Iconic’s chief marketing officer on creating a campaign that turns heads

This week, The Iconic hard-launched a new brand campaign to serve as a reminder, to consumers and itself, that the online retail platform is far from finished with disrupting and innovating the Australian and New Zealand retail industry.

The campaign entitled ‘Got You Looking’ created by Dentsu and Love Media is a master brand approach, maybe even a masterclass, in retail marketing featuring bold images and videos.

Ben Coulson, chief creative officer at Dentsu Creative, said, “We invoked the first law of advertising with this one, get noticed. ‘Got You Looking’ talks to the effect new clothes have, while setting us a nice challenge with each piece of work.”

Designed to be intentionally head-turning, the master brand campaign speaks to the feeling that new clothes so often give consumers, capturing attention to get noticed.

Set the standard to raise the bar 

The Iconic’s chief marketing officer, Joanna Robinson, told Inside Retail, that the campaign is a course correction from the past few years when the company “may have inadvertently overlooked the importance of reaffirming our identity and principles”. 

“This master brand campaign is designed to reignite the essence of our brand, sparking inspiration for and, in turn, create a better way to shop,” she added. 

The Iconic has been setting the standard in Australia and New Zealand’s retail industry since its launch in 2011, with its multi-brand fashion platform backed by unmatched delivery and returns. 

The new master brand campaign pays homage to the retailer’s disruptive roots while cementing The Iconic’s mission going forward – a commitment to be better.

This sentiment was echoed by The Iconic’s chief executive officer, Jere Calmes, who said in a statement, “From enhancing our customer experience and technology, advancing our people and planet progress and forging meaningful brand partnerships, we’re driven by our unwavering commitment to be better.”

Separate yourself from the crowd 

Beyond the desire for fresh branding, the external macroeconomic environment gave The Iconic the extra motivation it needed to differentiate itself from the competition.

“There’s no denying it’s tough out there for retailers at the moment but that further cements why now is such a critical time for businesses to invest in brand to help build trust, credibility and emotional connection with customers,” explained Robinson.

So it’s no coincidence that the master brand is eye-catching, forcing passers-by and app scrollers to do a double-take. 

“Our new master brand platform and refreshed company purpose aims to do this, shining a light on our strength in the market and how we have, and continue, to challenge the status quo and disrupt the broader retail sector,” said Robinson.

The competition amongst retailers has heated up, especially in the e-commerce sector, but instead of participating in a race-to-the-bottom strategy with endless deals, The Iconic is choosing to strengthen its brand.

While it may be the leading fashion and lifestyle platform across Australia and New Zealand, The Iconic is well aware of the abundance of choice when it comes to online shipping.

“Australians have never had more choice when it comes to shopping fashion online. While this presents obvious marketing challenges in an increasingly crowded space, it also enables us to lean into our strengths to differentiate how we show up in-market,” said Robinson.

Lean harder into your strengths 

When it launched 12 years ago, The Iconic created a better way for consumers to shop online and challenged the status quo in e-commerce, where it was virtually impossible to track deliveries and return garments that didn’t fit. 

The new campaign is intended to remind consumers of why they shop with The Iconic.

“When people think of The Iconic, they think of our wide range of brands, our impressive assortment, but more importantly the experience we create for customers,” shared Robinson.

“Everything we do has the customer at the heart of it – be it our unmatched delivery services, hassle-free returns, or the individuals we showcase in our campaigns,” she added.

The Iconic is renowned for its fast delivery and immediate returns which is backed by its warehouse logistics that are capable of serving 50,000 customers per day – an operational feature that it highlights in its master brand campaign. 

“One of the five pillars in our campaign talks to our product and delivery convenience, so while style and our assortment are incredibly important, our fast delivery and free returns keep our customers coming back for more,” said Robinson.

Looking towards the future, The Iconic is now deliberating how it’s going to use consumer data to create an immersive and personalised in-app experience to discover and purchase.

“Being the leading fashion and lifestyle platform in ANZ, we offer a wealth of data to better understand our customers, including how our marketing is performing and resonating with their interests, challenges and aspirations,” said Robinson. 

“Our challenge with this is how we leverage all of the data insights.”

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