On August 10th 2021, the nation was glued to TikTok as hundreds of sorority hopefuls showed off their "OOTDs" (Outfit of the Day) during rush week at the University of Alabama.
What did the videos have in common? Almost every post mentions campus favorite jewelry brand, Kendra Scott.
With #BamaRush taking over everyone’s FYP (For You Page), this was the perfect opportunity to capture a wider audience of young, Gen Z women, so we immediately went to work creating a TikTok #BamaRush strategy.
To capitalize on the viral trend, we jumped on the opportunity to insert Kendra Scott's former CMO, Mindy Perry, into the conversation to speak and connect with Gen-Z.
The Kendra Scott social team immediately noticed the mentions on #BamaRush and took to their own channels to join in on the fun, using some of their favorite soundbites to engage with the students, which allowed this completely organic, viral campaign to come to life. The coolest part is that Kendra Scott wasn’t even tagged in the students’ OOTDs at the beginning - they earned their virality through good ole’ fashioned boots on the ground (or in this case, fingers on the touch screen).
On August 11th, Kendra Scott first responded to the trend with two TikTok videos. The first video was about “Choose Your #BamaRush Jewelry Look”, highlighting the best Kendra Scott jewelry to wear throughout rush. As well as a second video titled “POV: you’ve been influenced by all of the girls going through Bama Rush” with an original audio of the plethora of Kendra Scott OOTD credits on TikTok.
Immediately, we began pitching business and fashion media, alerting them that Kendra Scott’s CMO was available for commentary. We used this as an opportunity to highlight how the brand was authentically connecting with the coveted Gen-Z demographic through their preferred social channel.
Our quick reaction to #BamaRush definitely paid off. The Kendra Scott brand went viral with:
“Kendra Scott is the Real Star of Alabama Rush TikTok” - Fashionista
“Overnight, jewelry brand Kendra Scott's website saw an increase in traffic, particularly from women in the 18 to 24 age range.” - Refinery29
“As clips began to flood TikTok, we wondered to ourselves if we, too, should buy some Kendra Scott earrings.” - CNN
The comments on Kendra Scott’s TikTok video gave the brand kudos on jumping into action:
Our reaction to #BamaRush translated into sales with:
