What TikTok's #BamaRush craze means for brands

Even if you are not from the South and have no connection to Greek life, there’s a chance that you have heard about TikTok's #BamaRush craze. In the last few weeks, millions of TikTok users have been exposed to the week-long rush event. The majority of the videos are “outfits of the day” (shortened to OOTD) that feature sorority hopefuls in their dorm rooms naming what brands of clothing, shoes, and jewelry they are wearing that day. The brands featured are wide ranging, including Marc Jacobs, Dolce Vita, and Tory Burch, alongside Amazon, Shein, and TJ Maxx. The hashtag #BamaRush has quickly ballooned to 308 million views, with #BamaRushTok at 73 million, and #ootd at 26 million. Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis. The trend has produced a plethora of user-generated content and free publicity for many brands, giving them insight on what their customers buy and how they style it. For smaller brands, it has been a crash-course in going viral, as they navigate a surge in social followers and tap employees to make their own videos in response. For larger brands, there's been an opportunity to see one segement of their customer base up close. And everyone has been reminded of the power of the TikTok algorithm. “This is an interesting subculture to see if you aren’t familiar with it,” says Mae Karwowski, CEO and founder of Obviously, an influencer marketing company. “Clearly these women give a lot of thought and planning to what they wear, and we’ve heard from brands that they are shocked the videos are so simple, yet so popular.” At the same time, it also is once again raising questions around the culture of sororities, which have long been criticized for a history of racist practices. It's something that brands linked to the hashtag may have to navigate along with the potential sales bump. @prettypinkash Alabama rush sisterhood round day 1 💘💘 ##bamarush ##rushtok ##sisterhood ♬ original sound - Ash Reacting and riding the wave The trend has been a big boost for local Southern brands who have long supplied the fashions sported by sorority sisters. Well-known around Alabama, the Pants Store has gained national attention. (Don’t let the name fool you, they sell more than just pants.) Last week, online orders were up 400%, according to Michael Gee, owner of Pants Store. “We have folks from Ireland and Greece asking if we ship internationally, and we’re seeing way more orders across the country,” he says. Gee also had to send more associates from his Birmingham stores to the Tuscaloosa location. Gee also points out that the sales bump is coming from new customers. The pieces named in OOTD videos were purchased weeks or months ago before Alabama students headed to campus. “We know that rush happens and had already been marketing to them months ago,” he says. Kendra Scott is another brand with multiple OOTD mentions. Their social media team started thinking of how to respond after seeing the videos appear in their personal TikTok feeds. Overnight, the team created a response called “Choose your #BamaRush Jewelry Look” that went live on Aug. 11 and has accumulated 86,000 likes. The Pants Store has also gained about 13,000 new TikTok followers. The Pants Store started a TikTok handle about six months ago and had been working on posting more proactively, using videos made by their store associates, a tactic many brands have adopted in an effort to make authentic content. “Those girls know TikTok much better than me, so we let them make their own,” says Gee. The shopping app LTK, where users can shop the linked styles of influencers, saw an 800% increase in searches for “bama rush” in the last week. Searches for “Kendra Scott” increased 614%, “Altar’d State” (a local Tennessee clothing boutique) was up 320%, and “tennis skirt” jumped 112%. The Kendra Scott website saw a 17% increase in new visitors, up 11% from the same time last year, according to Mindy Perry, chief marketing officer at the brand. Among first-time visitors, the site’s conversion rate rose, leading to an almost 20% increase in weekly revenue. “Instantly engaging in what is most important to our customers is how we were successful,” Perry said in an email. “Our priority has been to meet our customers where they are.” Most recently, Kendra Scott herself made a TikTok saying she couldn’t believe how many rushers were wearing her jewelry, and that she “can’t wait to see what university will be next.” @kendrascott We’re all invested at this point, Kendra included. ##BamaRushTok ##alabamarush ##recruitment ##bamarush ##ootd ##rushootd ##alabama ##sisterhood ##kendrascott ♬ original sound - Kendra Scott More than clothes While #BamaRush might feel frivolous, it has reignited the much heavier conversation around the lack of diversity in Greek life. “The RushTok trend speaks to how lighter content that isn’t as serious perhaps can be effective in inspiring more enriching discussions, such as diversity and inclusion,” Ali Fazal, VP of marketing at Grin, an influencer marketing platform, said via email. “Maybe this can be a bit of a wakeup call to the Greek system, or prompt them to rethink diversifying their recruiting strategies, or find ways to make it more inclusive.” For the Kendra Scott brand, Perry says the hope is that "this recent uptick in exposure leads to our ability to partner with even more service-oriented customers and organizations to create good and give back to all of the communities we serve.” Kendra Scott has developed relationships with sororities around service and philanthropy. The company runs a Kendra Gives Back program that allows community groups to host events in a Kendra Scott store, with 20% of event proceeds go to a charity of the community group’s choice. High-quality journalism isn’t always free. Subscribe to Ad Age now for award-winning news and insight. Up-close customers Brands mentioned in these videos are getting a glimpse into the kinds of customers who buy their products, and how they style them. “So many brands think they know who their customer is on TikTok and what they do, but this has really spotlighted that for some brands,” says Obviously's Krakwoski. “Brands also often think that TikTok is too young for them, and now they realize how far this has reached!” Looking forward, Pants Store’s Gee says they plan to keep up the TIkTok content and ride the momentum as football season starts. The student sections of Southern stadiums often dress up for football games. “I think the secret might be out about rush,” he said.

What TikTok's #BamaRush craze means for brands

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