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American Eagle Outfitters taps mobile video for user-generated runway show

American Eagle Outfitters is putting mobile at the core of a new video campaign that spurs consumers to show off their fall wardrobes in exchange for receiving a discount.

The specialty retailer?s ?Rock Your Walk? campaign centers around mobile video as the primary way that consumers can enter the sweepstakes. In addition, American Eagle Outfitters has updated its iPhone application to include some new features such as Passbook support.

?We decided to highlight mobile within our 'Rock Your Walk' campaign because our core demographic is interacting with us on their mobile devices,? said Jeremy Xavier, senior director of mobile at American Eagle Outfitters, Pittsburgh.

?Because the crux of this promotion involved filming a video and uploading it, mobile was obviously incredibly important,? he said. ?As we move towards getting our customers to interact with and shape our brand, mobile is going to be a key enabler of that.?

Walk on mobile
American Eagle Outfitters is running ads within the mobile properties of publishers such as Hearst?s Cosmopolitan to promote ?Rock Your Walk.?

The ads lead consumers to the campaign?s microsite at http://rockyourwalk.ae.com.

From there, consumers can learn more about the campaign and how to shoot a short, mobile video that shows them wearing a pair of the brand?s jeans. The idea is to create a string of user-generated content that makes up one big runway show.

Consumers should upload a video that shows them walking into the frame from the left side, striking a pose. Then the consumer should then leave by walking out on the right side of the frame. Additionally, the video should be shot to show legs and feet and be less than 15 seconds long.

The video can be uploaded through the microsite or via the Vine and Instagram mobile apps with the hashtag #rockyourwalk.

As an incentive to get consumers involved in the campaign, they can receive $10 off of a $40 purchase once entering.

There are also links at the top of the page on the microsite that direct consumers back to American Eagle Outfitters properties to shop.

Updated app
In addition to rolling out the mobile video campaign, American Eagle Outfitters has updated its iPhone app with a feature that lets consumers store their AERewards cards to Apple?s Passbook.

Consumers with an AERewards account can log-in to the app and click to create a virtual loyalty card that is stored within the Passbook app. The pass is then location-triggered when consumers are nearby American Eagle Outfitters stores and can be scanned at the point of sale by employees.

Given American Eagle Outfitters? teen demographic, it is no surprise that the brand has invested in mobile considerably in the past few years.

Most recently, an executive at Forrester?s Forum for Customer Experience Professionals East said that 70 percent of the brand?s emails are opened via mobile devices (see story).

?We're very lucky to have young and young at heart mobile-savvy customers who love our brand,? Mr. Xavier said.

?Mobile lets people stay close to and interact with brands in a way that wasn't possible a few years ago,? he said.

?We are now able to have a brand ambassador with our customers at all times and both the ease of having our rewards card on their phones or the ability to create content and participate in our promotions on the fly is incredibly important to us.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York