Crocs unveils month-long omnichannel promotion
October is “Croctober” at Crocs, featuring digital and in-store activations designed to increase brand engagement and sales.
The specialty footwear brand’s 31-day promotional effort will include its first-ever global partnership with Bitmoji, the platform for creating personalized digital avatars. Through this activation, customers will have the opportunity to outfit their Bitmoji avatars with items from a new digital collection of Crocs shoes and Jibbitz charms. This content will be available to consumers on Snapchat and the Bitmoji app beginning on Oct. 13.
Events including Crocs trivia on social media and in select Crocs retail stores will also take place all throughout the month. Customers can share Crocs-centric content on social media by tagging @crocs, which will give them a chance to receive surprise items or be featured on Crocs' social media channels.
Croctober will culminate on “Croc Day” – a company promotional holiday recognized annually on Oct. 23, with a first-of-its-kind global product reveal. Additional information about this exclusive drop will be shared in the days leading up to Croc Day.
Crocs has been increasing its omnichannel promotional activity. During the September New York Fashion Week event, Crocs partnered with buy now, pay later platform Afterpay to reveal an exclusive collection of Jibbitz charms, at a Times Square digital “Dropshop” augmented reality-based shopping experience. Customers could also use Snapchat to virtually try the Jibbitz charms on a pair of Black Classic Crocs before the Dropshop event, via a new Afterpay Snapchat Lens.
And by creating digital products for online avatars, Crocs is joining an increasingly popular retail trend. In August, Ralph Lauren partnered with the Zepeto global social networking and avatar simulation app to provide customers with a personalized virtual world. Known as Ralph Lauren x Zepeto, the partnership consists of a digital apparel collection and a thematic virtual world where Ralph Lauren apparel is virtually represented.
In June 2021, teen apparel retailer PacSun partnered with game development studio Melon and global online gaming platform Roblox to make select clothing items available in the Roblox Avatar Marketplace. Roblox players can use their “Robux” online currency (purchased with regular currency) to customize their in-game avatars with Pacsun-branded clothing and fashion accessories.
"We have some of the most incredible fans who want to be an active part of our community and engage with us in a meaningful way, and Croctober is an homage to that," said Heidi Cooley, chief marketing officer, Crocs. "Everyone in Croc Nation knows that Croctober is actually the most wonderful time of the year! There's no better time to come as you are and we can't wait to celebrate with our fans all month long."
To participate in Croctober activities, consumers can follow @crocs on social media and use the hashtag #Croctober21 to follow along. Based in Broomfield, Colo., Crocs operates more than 350 stores in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Australia, France, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, Japan, and China.