Dive Brief:
- Kohl’s will be the exclusive retail partner of the Academy Awards broadcast on Feb. 28 with a multiple-channel awareness blitz.
- The chain will offer a second-screen experience on Periscope and Twitter, including an invitation to participate in Saturday Night Live actress Vanessa Bayer’s Oscar party.
- Additional components of the partnership include sponsorship of red-carpet coverage at Oscar.com and party-planning ideas from Mindy Weiss on the social media.
Dive Insight:
Replacing J.C. Penney as the retail partner of the Academy Awards broadcast this year, Kohl’s will make the most of its buy with a multichannel campaign that offers not only television spots featuring family feel-good moments and an array of housewares and apparel, but also a robust range of social media components that promise to boost awareness for the brand.
“The Oscars will be a major brand moment for Kohl’s,” says Will Setliff, Kohl’s executive vice president of marketing. “Kohl’s is taking a unique approach, including an engaging social campaign, to break through the excitement of the Oscars—one that I’m confident will be memorable and well-represent all that Kohl’s stands for.”
Kohl’s will invite viewers of the 88th Academy Awards to virtually “attend” a viewing party held by Bayer as part of a second-screen experience on Periscope and Twitter—and join in on the action via tweet. Kohl’s follwers on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter will be able to access Oscar-night ideas from celebrity party planner Mindy Weiss.
TV spots will Kohl’s will celebrate #AllTheGoodStuff that happens in everyday family life, alongside classic Oscar moments. The cheerful campaign is part of Kohl’s effort to build its private-label brands, including (soon-to-be-relaunched) Sonoma, Jennifer Lopez, and Simply Vera Wang. And with the stars of screen decked out in borrowed formalwear, the red carpet is perhaps the most visible fashion event of the year. Kohl’s will also sponsor coverage at Oscar.com.