Back-to-school season usually kicks off in mid-July, but Urban Outfitters is getting an early start, like really early. The brand launched its UO Haul back-to-campus campaign in May, before some schools around the country even let out for the summer.
“We have a 365, ongoing platform for consumer insights. Our customers said, ‘My back-to-school season starts in May,’ and I was shocked,” says Cyntia Leo, head of brand marketing and communications at Urban Outfitters. “They’re making their wish lists for graduation parties to get the stuff that they want and need, and if they’re not graduating, they’re really conscious about what they’re purchasing in May in hopes that it actually lasts until September. They want longevity and also to meet across summer.”
Listening to the feedback, Urban Outfitters pushed up its usual July timeline and designed UO Haul as a multipronged, multiphase campaign to meet Gen Z where they are—online, at stores and on campus—to support and ease transitions into college dorms and first apartments, times when college students plan big home goods, clothes and lifestyle hauls.
Urban Outfitters kicked off its biggest seasonal campaign to date on May 19 in New York City with a scavenger hunt that had consumers spotting its fleet of glass-walled box trucks cruising the streets of Manhattan. The trucks were styled to represent three types of Gen Z dorm room aesthetics: The Pretty Haul, filled with soft, floral prints and pastel patterns; The Pregame Haul, themed for a night out, with loud leopard prints, mood lighting and GRWM accessories; and, the coziest of them all, The Plush Haul, packed with quilted bedding and fluffy pillows embroidered with phrases like “Snooze Fest” and “Bed Rotting.”
The brand popped up at NYU, Fordham University, Washington Square Park and Union Square, and gave away tickets to select winners for a special event the next day at NYU that featured a live performance from girl group KATSEYE. There, attendees were able to explore Urban Outfitters lounge areas and go inside the three box trucks to lay down on the beds on display, see the products and take photos. Actors were also in the trucks for the day to interact with participants and add some extra vibrance to the experience.
“What I loved about it is that it really blended products, culture and community together. It curated that assortment that Gen Z craves with immersive, in-real-life experiences that we also know that they crave,” Leo says. “The reason we chose the trucks is that most dorm rooms are the size of a truck; I think the inside was 10 by 10. We were thinking, how do we create beautiful, inspirational trucks and moments that felt very achievable and attainable, while showcasing some of our great products? We want consumers to feel like they can see themselves in it.”
The May events were just the beginning of UO Haul, as this month, Urban Outfitters entered phase two of the campaign with Special Delivery, a monthlong initiative celebrating recent graduates, inspired by the thousands of letters the brand receives each year. Leo says almost 5,000 graduation letters and announcements arrived in the office this time, and the team will be sharing some of their favorites and responding to a majority of them through surprise-and-delight moments and giveaways.
Additionally, Urban Outfitters teamed up with Collegeboxes by U-Haul for a contest where three students will win $1,000 in UO products and a move-in experience that includes door-to-door service for their move from home to campus. Winners will be announced next week. At the end of the month, the trucks will be in L.A., showing up at a few college campuses: “We want to make sure we’re hitting both the West Coast and the East Coast,” Leo says.
UO Haul will continue into July with activations to help students get dorm supplies and apparel, and then August will see the opening of a Campus Essentials temporary pop-up experience at 20 stores in key college markets, offering university-inspired collections of apparel, accessories and dorm essentials. September will mark the last month of the campaign and will be centered around college football game day.
Throughout the campaign’s run so far, Urban Outfitters has seen a lot of UGC from content creators, attendees and brand ambassador partners, Leo says, generating more than 130 million impressions, as of the end of May, and still growing across multiple channels. For next year, the team is already planning to scale the immersive, shareable experiences even more.
“As we bring to life any campaign moment, we look at it as a layered, full-funnel experience, and so it’s really important that we’re connecting with our customers across multiple different areas,” she says. “There was a digital component, very much a social component, but we know that IRL is just as important. Our consumers want experiential. They love and value in-real-life experiences, and so we want to be where they’re at and drive that really great impact by making sure that we’re showing up, inspiring them and doing what they’re asking for.”
Take a look at The Pregame Haul and The Plush Haul trucks:
Photos: Courtesy of Urban Outfitters
