Urban Outfitters’ Nuuly rental brand airs its biggest ad campaign yet—behind the strategy

Nuuly is in growth mode. Five years into existence, the subscription clothing rental service from Urban Outfitters Inc. is already turning a profit, opened a second fulfillment center earlier this year and recently surpassed over a quarter million active subscribers. Now, the brand is debuting its largest campaign yet as it tries to build awareness even more. 40 under 40 entries are open The final deadline for nominations is Aug. 2 Enter here “Now is the time to get the message out there in a louder way,” said Kim Gallagher, executive director of marketing and customer success at Nuuly. “We now have the capacity to take it up a notch, to get out there on more channels and remind people that renting is an option and that Nuuly is the option.” Rolling out today, the new campaign introduces a new tagline “Buying is normal; Renting is Nuuly.” A series of spots showcase the brand’s reusable rental totes as talking puppets. In one 30-second ad, a woman and her tote have a screaming good time talking about their shared closet. In another, two subway-riding bags discuss the upcoming events for which they’re renting clothes. The campaign was created internally and Nuuly worked with production company Capture This to execute it. Nuuly also handled media buying in-house. Kirsten Henri, Nuuly’s creative director, said she noticed through social listening that customers were enthralled with the Nuuly bags, often tagging it in content, for example, and giving it a personality. “Our customers love the bag—it’s a special treat that comes to their house every month, but they sort of anthropomorphize it and treat it like a character,” she said. She noted that silliness has been part of the brand since its inception—“Nuuly” is a made-up word. “We have that flexibility to make it mean what we want,” she said. The campaign, which includes two 30-second and two 15-second spots, will run on connected TV platforms including Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Peacock. Previously, Nuuly had only invested in Hulu. In addition, the brand will have out-of-home and social media ads. Gallagher noted that the budget is “significantly larger” than previous campaigns. For its most recent quarter, Nuuly’s net sales were up 51% to $77.9 million year over year. Executives said the growth was driven by a 45% increase in average active subscribers. Indeed, Nuuly’s growth has been more robust than older rivals. By comparison, Rent the Runway, which was founded in 2009 and is one of the most well-known rental sites, recently reported first-quarter revenue of $75 million, a 1.1% increase over the year-earlier period, along with 135,896 average active subscribers. Part of Nuuly’s appeal to Gen Z and other customers keen on the circular economy lies in its simplicity, Gallagher said, noting one single offer of six items for $98 a month. “Rental is still in its early stages,” she said. “It’s not about grabbing market share; it’s about growing the market and having people shift from buying to renting. Keeping it simple has been to our advantage.” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs

Urban Outfitters’ Nuuly rental brand airs its biggest ad campaign yet—behind the strategy

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