Issue #68 - Ralph Lauren on TikTok

Make sure you subscribe to receive new updates!

Welcome to Good TikTok Creative!

We are Simon Andrews and Anthony McGuire, two people who have been working in marketing, advertising, and media for decades.

---

Submit Your Entry to The GTTC Awards!

Our website for the GTTC Awards is now live! Learn more about the awards, the amazing judges, and how you can enter. We’ve received a lot of feedback and extended the entry deadline to December 31. We’ll be sending out more correspondence on the event over the coming weeks!

---

TikTok Case Study #68 = Ralph Lauren and Roblox

Simon’s Take:

Ralph is a hard brand to market. Because it’s not really one brand. The goods on sale at the beautiful Ralph stores on Bond Street, Madison Avenue or Avenue Montaigne have little to do with the Ralph Lauren merchandise found in outlet stores of TKMaxx.

Ralph Lauren invented the diffusion brand and has built a colossal business, leveraging the old money image of the brand so less moneyed people want to buy the logo. In between these two extremes there are other sub brands, including Polo, which has a sportwear focus. The brand has a relationship with Wimbledon and with the US Olympics team so is building authenticity into their sportswear.

How do you keep a brand like this relevant? You go where your customers go. So no surprise to see them running ads on TikTok, promoting their presence on Roblox. These ads feature the weekly drops on Roblox, taking place in the Ralph Lauren’s Winter Escape. At the Escape you can skate around the ice, customize hot chocolate at Ralph's Coffee Truck, toast marshmallows by the fire and of course Try on sport-inspired pieces at The Polo Shops.

You could argue the ads don't take any advantage of the grammar of TikTok - no way to participate and a hashtag with very low involvement - because its not involving.

But given they have built a significant presence in Roblox, the best outcome is to get the TikTok users to go to Roblox and explore Ralph Lauren’s Winter Escape.

So the ads are all about awareness. Job done.

Anthony’s Take:

So this week we’re writing about Ralph Lauren promoting their Roblox virtual world through a TikTok campaign. It’s a unique concept and one has to wonder how much of the overall campaign’s marketing budget was allocated to Roblox vs. TikTok.

While both Roblox and TikTok have young audiences, Roblox’s userbase is even younger - catering more to kids than teenagers or people in their early twenties. You can imagine that many of the people who will be seeing these TikTok ads don’t actually play Roblox.

Ralph Lauren has created their own ‘Winter Escape’ within Roblox, which is similar to other Roblox virtual worlds created by brands like Nike and Gucci. Users can play as characters decked out in Ralph Lauren attire that are also released in exclusive drops, very much inspired by streetwear.

For the kids playing Roblox, getting exposure to Ralph Lauren should help increase the brand’s awareness among younger audiences. Even though they probably aren’t buying much Ralph Lauren today, the brand must see this as a long-term investment in the brand’s future customer base.

The TikTok videos promoting the Ralph Lauren Winter Escape come across like a video game trailer. They showcase Roblox characters dressed up in Ralph Lauren virtual skins, playing various activities, and displaying all the available apparel and accessories.

You have to pause and realize how far we have come in 2021. A traditional fashion brand (Ralph Lauren) is promoting their branded virtual world in a kid’s game (Roblox) on the premier short-form mobile video platform (TikTok). This is the kind of campaign that would catch the attention of Ralph Lauren’s older audiences, but maybe not their appreciation.

This is a campaign built for the future. Whether this specific campaign is successful or not, Ralph Lauren is actively trying to modernize their marketing and overall brand.

---

The Good TikTok Creative Survey

We are interested in getting your feedback on Good TikTok Creative in order to improve the newsletter! Please fill out the 2-min survey here!

---