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Special Project

Special Project
From the 16th Annual Shorty Awards

Rewriting the Rules of Comfort for Lovesac's 25th Anniversary

Entered in Brand Awareness Campaign

Objectives

While Lovesac Sactionals are the #1 selling couch in the US, unaided brand awareness in the furniture category is notoriously hard to come by. We were challenged to use the brand's 25th anniversary as a timely opportunity to further disrupt the industry, drive awareness and show clear benefits that engage consumers in an otherwise boring utilitarian vertical.   

Our mission was to showcase unique product benefits in an unexpected way in celebration of a milestone year for the Lovesac brand. Celebrating where the brand has been and where it’s going, omni-channel program tactics were developed to not only reach consumers and create intrigue but inspire meaningful engagement and ultimately increase brand loyalty.  

Integrated teams identified specific key performance indicators, aiming to secure 2B earned media impressions, 325 pieces of social content for the fiscal year, and an above average engagement rate and CPM. 

Alongside creative agency The Boathouse and integrated communications firm KWT Global, the Lovesac in-house marketing team crafted an omni-channel national campaign that included digital advertising, experiential activations, ownable influencer content, showroom promotions, celebrity partnerships, and everything in between. 

Strategy and Execution

We paired real Lovesac customers in the cultural zeitgeist with products they’ve loved for years and put key value propositions to the test. From washable covers and modular pieces to invisible and immersive surround sound, we sparked an authentic movement in the furniture category that was undeniably unique. 

Celebrities like Olympic Snowboarder Shaun White (a customer since 1999), White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson, Singer and Actress Brandy, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and Machine Gun Kelly pitched in to show the world that Lovesac is the only brand truly “Rewriting the Rules of Comfort” and inspired customers everywhere to rewrite their own "rules" of comfort. 

Through a three-phase approach – Spark, Amplify, Sustain - we structured the campaign story as a film with 3 acts. Leading up to launch, KWT Global brought Rolling Stone behind the scenes for an exclusive look at how the campaign came to life. Offering in-person interviews with Shaun White and Brandy, the outlet ultimately broke the news on launch day and shared a BTS video to their Instagram account, followed by 7.4M. 

In tandem, KWT Global identified long-time Lovesac fans as well as new influencer talent across fashion, design, and entertainment to seed Lovesac product to, allowing them time to test and create unique content focused on how they rewrite their own rules of comfort at home with Lovesac styles suited to their individual tastes and needs. Brief development for talent receiving product included specific direction while still allowing content deliverables to be authentic to each individual’s brand. Utilizing eye-catching product from a Swarovski partnership which revealed a limited-edition Sac Cover embossed with thousands of namesake crystals, teams enlisted American TV personality Ashley Iaconetti to bring 25th Anniversary content to life for her 1.2M followers. 

At launch, a new logo lock-up for the 25th anniversary went live across channels and a celebratory event marked the milestone moment in New York City. Editors, influencers, VIPs, Lovesac employees and past and present brand partners were invited to an activation rooted in product experiences. The celebrity vignettes from the campaign video came to life, allowing guests to engage with Lovesac product in unique ways – splattering paint just as Haley Lu Richardson did and using a faux chainsaw to cut one in half similar to Travis Barker. The event was attended by 35 influencers and talent including Kourtney Kardashian, Simon Huck, Alex Costa, Stacey Bendet, Luanna Perez and more, with a total of 550+ guests in attendance.  

To sustain momentum, KWT Global seeded new Lovesac product to select editors and influencers encouraging them to consider how the core product benefits help to reinvent their diverse living spaces. Extensive always-on efforts encouraged influencers to create ongoing content showing how they rewrite the rules of comfort with Lovesac. Stand out collaborations include Gen Z it-girl Kennedy Eurich, DJ DeadMau5, TikToker Charli D’Amelio, family and lifestyle influencer Laura Beverlin, vloggers Alex Warren and Kouvr Annon, and more.   

Results

We maintained an above average (2%) engagement rate with an engagement rate of 4.74% and had our highest earned media value (EMV) of any campaign yet with $8,484,583. Of 200 activated partnerships, only 12 were paid partners and the remaining were organic or in exchange for product, keeping the return on ad spend high and investment low. 

Mapping directly back to brand awareness, our efforts generated 57M impressions (216% over our goal) and 29M video views. Our influencer partners not only reached target audiences but encouraged them to get engaged – with Lovesac’s social media channels growing by nearly 100K followers from May through December, sitting well over 650K followers on Instagram alone.   

We validated the effectiveness of our messages through the commentary on our partners’ posts and an increase in conversation volume around Lovesac and its product innovations. Key messages on social that mentioned Lovesac rewriting the rules (used alongside our keywords like innovation, disruption, adaptable) increased by 190% from 2022 to 2023.  

The comments on our posts spoke to the intent to purchase products that set Lovesac apart as a disruptor, highlighting their innovations such as washable covers and rearrangeable seats. With unprecedented sales (Lovesac third quarter net sales increased 14.3% year over year), and an inspiring message around individuality and sustainability - we sparked a movement to inspire the next 25 for Lovesac. 

Media

Video for Rewriting the Rules of Comfort for Lovesac's 25th Anniversary

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Lovesac

Links

Entry Credits