Sears, Kmart aim young in new campaigns

Marketing to teens now takes innovation and some unusual promotions. The latest generation of children is the most tech-savvy yet, so to market to these kids, retailers have to hit them where they dwell—cyberspace. And one company that has shown a great willingness to push the envelope with teen marketing is Sears Holdings.

Kmart, through a partnership with YouTube, is encouraging ‘junior fashionistas’ to share their unique back-to-school style and personality. Teens can enter the “Show Your Back-To-School Style: Get in the Commercial” contest at www.Kmart.com/YouTube from July 18 to Aug. 17, by uploading 30- to 60-second commercials that demonstrate how Kmart works with their unique style. The top 20 videos will be featured and voted for on YouTube through Sept. 1. The winning commercial will be professionally produced and aired on TV.

Sears, which launched a prom campagin on teen networking site Facebook several months ago, has also entered into BTS partnerships with several big names in youth interactive marketing. To ensure that its message of “Don’t Just Go Back. Arrive.” resonates, the retailer has collaborated with 13 Web sites to create virtual worlds and social networking applications that direct teens to its “Arive Lounge,” www.arrivelounge.com , which features exclusive, interactive content from Sears’ 2008 back-to-school offering.

Also tapping into the “High School Musical” phenomenon, the retailer’s campaign features Vanessa Hudgens and her latest music videos where she is shown in an array of Sears BTS fashions.

The new marketing initiatives seem to have bypassed parents and instead are targeting tweens and teens directly. Choosing to tout their latest styles in the virtual world, Sears and Kmart are helping to get kids excited over the coolest looks for BTS and are allowing them to direct their parents to the stores of their choice.

“Expanding our marketing strategy into the online world…is a critical means of developing engagement and brand loyalty within the youth demographic,” said Richard Gerstein, Sears’ senior vp and chief marketing officer. “By modifying our strategy to reach tweens in their own environment, we are demonstrating to them how Sears can be a part of their lives, from their entertainment to their school wardrobe.”