Gap gets 500,000 e-mail addresses in response to its Casting Call promotion
To elicit interest–-and the e-mail addresses–-of consumers as part of an advertising campaign, nothing works like putting consumers themselves in the limelight, Gary Muto, president of the Gap brand for Gap Inc., says. Gap collected e-mail addresses from 500,000 people who voted for their favorite contestants in Gap’s Casting Call, a promotion conducted last fall that let consumers apply for the opportunity to appear in Gap advertising campaigns, including this year’s holiday season ads. “By getting an e-mail address with every vote, we expanded our direct-marketing database and enhanced our relationship marketing,” Muto said during a presentation at the Goldman Sachs Retailing Conference in San Francisco last week.
Muto, who took over as Gap brand president a year ago, noted that involving consumers directly in Gap’s advertising campaigns is part of Gap’s revised strategy to be a more customer-focused organization that builds on customer relationships in integrated campaigns through print, TV and online media.
One of Gap’s recent successes in marketing and merchandising showed up on eBay.com, he added. When Gap merchandised “crazy stripe” sweater sets including hat, scarf and gloves for $67, they quickly sold out and were soon selling in eBay auctions for as much as $415. “That confirmed to me the power of our brand,” Muto said.
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